Friday Night
by HistoryIsImmortal
Summary: Set somewhere after 3x18, The Murder of One. Elijah arrives at home in hopes of spending a quiet night in his room only to discover that one of his siblings has decided to throw a massive party that has taken over the entire mansion. Needless to say, he isn't exactly enthusiastic about it. Will also feature Elena, Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Jeremy etc.
1. Chapter One: Surprise!

_Author's Note: Hi, people! So this is my attempt on a bit of humor, I guess. As said, Elijah arrives at home on a Friday evening to find that his plans of a quiet evening have been forcefully replaced by chaos and mayhem. Will be a few chapters long, I presume.  
_

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**Chapter One: Surprise!**

Elijah felt good as he sat into his car, ready to go home. He'd loaded a cooler with enough blood to last for a while into the trunk, it was Friday – thank heavens – and he couldn't wait to throw himself onto a bed, sink his tired face into the cool fabric of his pillow and forget about the world. Maybe he'd even award himself with a glass of good Irish whiskey and drift to sleep watching late night television…

He glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost ten. He sighed as he turned on the engine, already dreaming of the long desired peace and quiet of his room. This hellish week was _finally_ behind him.

Or not… As Elijah learned – or rather was brutally reminded of – that night: one should not cheer prematurely.

He had barely turned on the right street when he already heard the muffled sound of music, the violent bass beat making his insides jump, and that was when he first suspected that his night might not proceed as he had planned. Somehow he just knew that the racket could be coming from only one certain house, sadly the one happened to be his destination.

As he pulled in front of the mansion, a deep frown on his face, he got the sick feeling he may have gotten lost in some bad high school movie and for a while only one thought occupied his mind: _what the hell was going on here?_

From the close proximity the horrible choice of music sounded almost unbearable. He quickly spotted that the front door was hanging wide open, a whole gang of people crowding the driveway, cars parked seemingly randomly, and he could have sworn that the guy leaning against the wall for support was in the middle of throwing up.

Elijah was a patient man, _very_ patient judging by the _many_ occasions people – mostly his family – had tested his limits. So what he didn't do was get out of the car throwing his hands up in a fit of anger and demand explanations right there and then. Instead he backed up and parked the car on the street since there was simply no free space anywhere else.

He killed the engine, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He had half a mind to turn it right back on and find a hotel to spend the night, but knowing his siblings, someone had to keep an eye on things to not get too out of control, otherwise, he was sure, there would be nothing left of the house by the morning or – god forbid – he'd have a bunch of dead bodies to deal with.

Elijah locked his car and started walking back towards the mansion, smoothing his suit jacket as he tried to keep calm. He would not cause a scene… not tonight. But whoever initiated this party or whatever such a thing should be called – either Kol or Rebekah would be a safe bet – was in for a very unpleasant conversation tomorrow.

People on the driveway eyed Elijah with raised brows and surprised stares as he made his way to the house. By the look of them, they must have been high school students, he concluded, and this was evidently no event for suits and ties, he got that too.

He looked around to find anyone he actually knew but thus far came up blank. The young faces around him remained unfamiliar, no sign of his mischievous siblings.

Elijah entered the mansion, annoyed that he had to squeeze past people, who gave him looks as if they had the right to be there. _Arrogant teenagers, damn them._ He soon discovered that inside the house the situation was not any better, in fact it was worse.

Everywhere he looked there were people – dancing , singing, drinking, talking, shouting, smoking, partying people. The sight of what could only be described as a disaster waiting to happen.

He felt anger boiling inside him as he watched them slowly destroying his home. _Where was Klaus with his 'I just finished renovating' speech? Where were Rebekah and Kol? And most of all – who invited all those people here?_ He was about ready to strangle the one responsible.

However furious Elijah felt, he managed to suppress any murderous thoughts. No reason to get mad about such small matters compared to the problems he had been dealing with for a long, long time.

For a second Elijah contemplated whether to demand their 'guests' to leave, but figured it would take him forever to usher them all out of the house as they were so obviously in no hurry to get away. They were having fun and their fun was giving him a headache.

Elijah sighed heavily and decided to deal with the whole ordeal in the morning when the crowds had hopefully vanished and left behind a wrecked house. Of course, granted he'd have the chance to get some sleep in all this commotion which was yet to be determined.

Upstairs the volume of music was slightly more tolerable, but even the corridors had unfortunately not been spared of invading teenagers making out with each other. _Ugh._

The door to Elijah's room was thankfully shut. He pushed down the handle and stepped into his domain, his hand reaching out for the light switch when a rustling noise surprised him. With the music so loud, his enhanced hearing was more of a nuisance than help.

Then a voice called out from the darkness of his room. "Hey, man, get outta here! Kinda busy, you know."

Elijah just stood there, dumbfounded for the time being, squinting to see the creature who dared to invade his room. For some reason he found himself reluctant to turn on the light.

_Damn teenagers_, he cursed in his mind for the umpteenth time as he stepped to the side to free the doorway. He raised his hand in a – what he saw as – undeservedly polite gesture, motioning towards the exit.

"I advise you to leave at once," he said calmly, pursing his lips in annoyance.

His voice must have commanded enough authority to make the lost boy understand that this was no joke. In a matter of seconds he heard movement, accompanied by quiet mutters of at least two people, and soon a pair of scantily dressed high schoolers appeared before him, their eyes lowered and their faces red as they snuck by him, the girl whispering a half-hearted "sorry".

Elijah ignored the urge to compel them to never drink again, or maybe think of some other form of punishment. Though the never drinking part might turn out to be a blessing where their futures were concerned… No, why bother anyway? He just wanted them gone.

He closed the door behind him and finally risked his already worn out nerves by switching on the light. The sight was not pleasing, he had to admit – his bed was a mess and the floor was littered with a half-empty bottle of rum and a few articles of clothing they clearly hadn't been able to locate in the dark.

So Elijah did the only thing he could do. He set the bottle on the shelf, threw the clothes to the corridor – they'd find them there if they cared enough to come looking, it was hardly his concern to begin with – and stripped the bed from the sheets to replace them with clean ones.

He moved silently and swiftly making his room – his safe haven – habitable again, though he couldn't stop himself from feeling repulsed and resentful towards the invaders. _Can't a man have any privacy even in his own home?_

That all brought him back to the main issue: the party that was raging downstairs, which he couldn't forget for a moment due to the inhumanly loud music that seeped through even the thickest of walls.

In mere fifteen minutes his room had been transformed back into what it had been when he'd left it – immaculate and undisturbed. He gave a last sweep of his hand to the covers of his bed to smooth out the remaining wrinkles and when he stretched himself, his gaze travelling around the room, he found himself satisfied with its condition.

_What to do now?_

Elijah sat on the edge of his bed, looking around quite aimlessly. There was no way he could enjoy the evening with this mayhem outside his door. He lied down on his back, loosening his tie – but only slightly. They had 'quests' after all, he thought chuckling darkly. Closing his eyes, he tried to search for some resemblance of peace, but his head was throbbing of all the noise from downstairs. The music, the tens and tens of ongoing conversations, the chipper shouts and irritating giggles, sounds of bottles clinking together and cups being filled. Sometimes he really hated how immature his siblings could be.

Suddenly, he sprang back up to a sitting position. He couldn't rest, not like this. Instead Elijah retrieved a tumbler and filled it with whiskey. Up to the very rim of the glass. He figured he deserved every sip for putting up with this madness.

He stood by the window for a long while, sipping his drink and watching the havoc going on in the backyard.

Honestly, it was oddly, morbidly amusing to see what youth had become, he mulled as he witnessed a crowd of people who had gathered around two girls who seemed to be readying themselves for a battle of sorts. It was ridiculous seeing the two disheveled girls with runny make up, both holding a cup – with alcohol, no doubt, in it – and screaming profanities at each other. Then, not ten minutes later, they apparently reached some sort of agreement, as they embraced each other, both crying by now. Even more incredible, perhaps, was the reaction of the crowd around them that seemed to collectively sigh in disappointment before disbanding, doubtlessly to search for some new and more interesting drama.

_Was this really the sort of entertainment his siblings were drawn to?_

He didn't know… Mainly because his younger brother and sister had been boxed up for almost a century and he'd been running from his insane remaining brother, both plotting the other's murder. There really wasn't a therapist in the world who could take on this family…

Elijah took another sip discovering that his glass had become empty. His mind, on the other hand, felt much more at ease and tension had left his body. Alcohol truly had its uses, he mused, pouring himself another glass. Maybe he ought to join the party after all, even if only to find the sibling he had every right to strangle tomorrow…

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_As it happens, no other characters appeared in the first chap, but some of them will be in the next one. Let me know what you think._


	2. Chapter Two: Dealing With Brothers

_Author's Note: Thank you everyone who took the time to review. Your feedback means a lot to me :)_

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**Chapter Two: Dealing With Brothers**

Elijah slowly descended downstairs, but not before straightening his tie and locking his bedroom door. He really wasn't in the mood for another cleanup. He gripped the railing tightly as he observed the ongoing 'festivities'.

The stairs were sticky from spilled alcohol and cluttered with empty cups, trampled flat by dozens of feet, he imagined. Elijah recalled the ball his mother had insisted on holding – even though it had been only a trick to kill them – but still, the sight had been so monumentally different from what he was witnessing now that it was comical.

Each room of the mansion seemed to be crawling with teenagers. Someone had dragged a pair of pretty impressive speakers into the living-room where the awful music originated from.

As Elijah passed through it he saw people dancing literally everywhere. He was particularly disturbed by the group who had seized the antique coffee table. Others sat on the several couches, sipping their drinks and apparently conversing somehow, though _how_ exactly was it possible in the loud noise remained a mystery to Elijah. Another band of teenagers had gathered around the boy who was picking the songs, shouting what he should play next and arguing with each other.

They all gave him a headache and the whole room felt as if completely drained from oxygen. To think he was the only one to notice, although technically dead. He didn't _need_ to breathe… but right now he craved to do so nonetheless.

Elijah pushed past yet another cluster of people and exited the front door to get some fresh air. He walked a little farther, glancing at the black sky, and took a long sip of his whiskey. Much, _much_ better.

"Elijah," a familiar voice said, making him turn around.

"Elena," he smiled, pleasantly surprised. Finally a face he knew and what a lovely face at that. "I'm pleased to see you here."

Elena, who had been fiddling with her phone, stuck it in her pocket, a sincere smile lightening up her face. She was dressed in a casual pair of dark blue jeans and a purple top, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Likewise," she said with a polite nod. "I didn't expect to be here, quite honestly," she laughed, waving her hand towards the racket coming from the house. "And I certainly didn't expect you to throw a rager."

"Well, yes," he chuckled quietly, "I wasn't really included in the planning of this whole ordeal."

"So a pleasant Friday night surprise?"

"More like a rude awakening." They both laughed at that. "Which brings me to another question… do you happen to know which one of my dear siblings can I thank for organizing this event?"

"Nope, sorry," she said, her gaze still lingering on the mansion, before turning her eyes back on him. "Guess my invitation got lost in the mail," she went on, grinning sheepishly.

"Mine also," he admitted, thin-lipped.

"I saw your family having quite a bit of fun, though," Elena said vaguely.

Elijah raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? And where might I find them?"

"I sense a scolding is in order," she said, releasing a whole-hearted laugh that may have made his heart melt just the tiniest bit.

"Yes," he agreed, risking with sounding rather dull. In all truth he had nothing against parties, but for this one to be to his liking it would have had to be toned down 'a notch'. Roaring pop hits and vomiting teenagers weren't really his style.

"Well…" Elena drawled, biting her lip as she peeked at him through a curtain of her dark hair. "I saw Rebekah in the living-room…"

"I must have missed her then," he said, frowning as he recalled the overcrowded room.

"Um, she was pretty busy dancing on the table with the crème de la crème of senior class jocks, the last I checked," she added, seemingly somewhere between disapproval and an urge to burst into laughter.

"Ah," he smiled wryly. "Rebekah. Yes, she always manages to be graceful." She loved his little sister dearly, but she and Kol knew how to let loose a little too well. And speak of the devil…

"I also think I noticed Kol in the dining room playing beer pong with Matt," Elena said after a short pause, her voice sounding a bit worried as if she was scared that Kol might slaughter her friend at any given moment. Elijah couldn't blame her, though – his youngest brother had hurt him once already, not to mention he had the tendency to be impulsive and reckless.

"I need to speak with my brother," he stated flatly. "Will you accompany me inside?"

Elena looked around as if she was half-expecting for someone to appear and stop her before she shrugged and said "Sure."

As they walked back towards the entrance, Elijah suddenly thought of something. "Elena," he started, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "You said you weren't invited…?"

"Yea," she laughed, averting her eyes, probably fearing he considered her rude. Truthfully he didn't care. He wanted to get rid of the lot who was defiling his home, not Elena. "But you know," her voice brought him out of his thoughts; "it's not a party before someone's crashed it." She winked at him playfully.

The statement made little sense to Elijah but he wasn't about to admit that.

Soon he discovered that Elena was much more skilled at pushing through hordes of people as he followed her to the dining room.

On their way they passed though the living-room and she helpfully pointed out Rebekah for him. She appeared to be having the time of her live, swaying atop of the coffee table since she didn't have much room for dancing with being surrounded by several guys. She had a martini glass in her hand, cocktail spilling in every direction as she moved to the music.

Elijah gave her a condemning shake of his head, not that she would have noticed, and walked on. A part of him felt glad to see his sister so happy and a part of him was irritated that this particular activity provided it to her.

The dining room was as packed with people as the rest of the ground floor. Most of them seemed to be gathered around the table in the middle of the room that was occupied by a bunch of cups. They formed two triangles set on opposite ends of the table.

"Elijah, my good man!" Kol's voice roared over the crowd, cheerful and only slightly sluggish. "Just the brother I was looking for!"

It took a moment for Elijah to spot his brother among the people, but soon he located the source of his voice and walked onwards to him Elena in tow.

Kol was sipping something that looked like whiskey as he was resting his other hand against the dining table while waiting for them to reach him. He had that spark in his eyes, Elijah noted, that spark that said he was having fun and whenever Kol was having fun there was nothing but a silver dagger dipped into the ash of a great white oak tree that could stop him.

"Brother," Kol said in a polite voice, raising his glass to him. "And," he a quirked an eyebrow at Elena, "the doppelganger?"

Elijah watched Elena as she was somewhat taken aback by his brother. Kol frightened her, he could tell. She didn't say anything but she looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't look so glum," Kol suddenly piped up again, his tone mockingly hurt. He'd obviously noticed Elena's reaction to him. "Here," he extended his hand with the tumbler between his fingers, "have a drink and lighten up. It's a party for heaven's sake!" He gave her a wicked grin that oddly seemed to make Elena relax a bit as she accepted the glass and took a long sip from it.

"You know," Kol wasn't still quite done, chatty as he was, "me and your brother are already buds, so I'm thinking of extending my friendship to the entire Gilbert family."

"You only _pretended_ to be Jeremy's friend," Elena said, and Elijah was mildly surprised to hear defiance in her voice as he observed their conversation with amused interest. He knew his brother well enough; he knew Kol wouldn't hurt her, least of all in a house full of witnesses when Klaus had so clearly forbidden it.

"Well, maybe," his brother said, flashing an innocent grin, "but we bonded over drinks tonight and decided to re-establish our friendship. Aren't parties great?" He directed the last comment to Elijah, who couldn't help but smile skeptically at his enthusiasm.

He'd never admit it but he'd missed that side of his little brother – easygoing and a little bit crazy, charming and buoyant. But that, of course, assuming he managed to not kill anyone in the process.

"Jeremy's _here_?" Elena blurted, sounding both concerned and angry."What did you do to him?"

"Oh, don't be so negative," Kol said, dismissing her words with a wave of his hand. "We had a little chat and then he disappeared with Klaus and the other bong-hugging hippies."

Elijah couldn't stop himself from snorting funnily at that. "_Klaus?_" he asked, his eyebrows risen in disbelief.

"Yea, he mumbled something about reliving the 60's," his brother stated a bit confusedly.

Elena, who'd been busy rolling her eyes, handed the tumbler roughly back to Kol and said hurriedly that she needed to check up on Jeremy before she vanished into the mass of people.

"You didn't really do anything to him, did you?" Elijah said, his face stern again, as he followed her with his eyes.

"Of course not," Kol laughed. "But she's ever protective, the vampire-dreading youth." He shook his head dramatically. "Now down to business! I need a partner, fit to deal an epic beatdown to our favorite wonder twins," he continued cryptically.

As if on cue, Damon and Stefan entered the room, similarly to them holding glasses instead of plastic cups in their hands.

"Ready to get your asses kicked?" Damon asked sweetly, sneering at them.

"Ha fucking ha," said Kol, setting his tumbler aside to crack the joints of his fingers. "As if you two baby vam…" he trailed off realizing he couldn't use the word 'vampire' aloud amidst random people. As he couldn't think of anything better he simply reached for his glass again and drained it before announcing: "Prepare to be beaten, gentlemen!"

"What have you gotten me into, Kol?" Elijah inquired, looking between him and the Salvatore's who had taken stand on the other side of the table.

"Just a friendly little drinking game," he said, all innocent again, and proceeded to explain the rules of beer pong to him.

When Kol finished with the instructions, Stefan spoke up. "What do you say, shall we double it up?" he said in his low, almost indifferent tone, though there was definitely a splash of glee in there somewhere, "Twenty cups."

"Should make it a little more interesting," Damon snickered, rubbing his hands together.

Elijah glanced at Kol who looked back at him, seemingly intrigued by the idea. Then his brother turned his gaze back at the Salvatore's, tilting his head in a calculating manner. "Somebody bring me more cups!" he shouted over the noisy room, and after thinking about it for a second he added, "And while you're at it, bring more beer!"

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_Any comments and criticism are welcome._

_Just as a sidenote: if anyone was wondering, yes, this story obviously disregards some details such as Elijah leaving Mystic Falls, the circumstances of his departure etc. It just follows the events of one night and hopefully coaxes a few smiles out of you._


	3. Chapter Three: Time to Play

_Author's Note: As always, thanks for reviewing._

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**Chapter Tree: Time to Play**

Ten minutes later the dining table was becoming _very_ crowded with cups of beer. Kol was overseeing the process rolling a ping pong ball between his fingers, a devilish grin on his face.

Elijah glanced around the bustling room, watching as people came and went, talking to each other, mixing drinks and generally having a good time. It was strange, to say the least.

"Care to explain me how all _this _came to be?" he asked while sipping his drink. As he brought the glass to his lips again, Kol suddenly laid his hand over it, gently swiping the tumbler from his hand.

"Save it for the victory dance, brother," he said, "no need to give them an unfair advantage." He shot a glance at the Salvatore's on the other end of the table and added more loudly: "Not that it would matter!"

"So? The party, Kol?" Elijah reminded him of his unanswered question. "Whose idea was it?"

"Um, it sort of just…" his brother drawled vaguely, obviously trying to dodge him.

"You or Rebekah?" Elijah said coldly. Quite truthfully his insides had become warm from the alcohol and he was rather enjoying himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to bust the one responsible for the mayhem.

"Well the thing is…" Kol started cautiously, gazing at the cups being filled and set on the table. "Rebekah was trying to persuade me to go to school with her and I said that high school was lame, so she wanted to change my mind by convincing me it was awesome. But as it came out… Doesn't it_ always?_" He smirked knowingly. "Our sweet sister hadn't done her homework and she didn't know too much about the subject _so_ we decided to do some research."

"Research?" Elijah repeated amusedly.

"Rebekah rented a bunch of high school movies for us to watch and…" Kol was interrupted by Elijah's melodic laughter.

"You cannot be serious, Kol," he said, eyes bright with humor.

"_What?_" he laughed, "It was _her_ idea. Anyway we watched stuff like, uh… _American Pie_, I think, and _Easy A_ and _Ten Things I Hate About You_, then _Drive Me Crazy_ and… whatever! I can't remember any more names but as intolerable as they were, we came to one and the same conclusion – attending high school includes having parties and as we hadn't been invited to any, we decided to arrange one ourselves. Turned out pretty nice, right?"

Before Elijah could think of an answer Damon bellowed: "Time to play!" Only now did he notice how many people had gathered around the table to watch them compete. Or should he say drink? Because that was the essence of the game, it seemed to Elijah.

They flipped a coin to see which team would go first. Damon tossed the coin in the air and showed everyone it had landed tails once it was back in his palm. Kol immediately protested that the Salvatore brothers were cheating since they had picked tails, but the crowd was on their opponents' side, demanding that the game would begin already.

So Stefan got the first throw. He aimed the ball, as expressionless as ever, eyes dark and shiny in the brightly lit room. When he released it from his hand it flew with a beautiful arc and landed in one of their cups.

"Nicely done!" Damon shouted, punching the air with his fist.

Kol scowled at the result, fishing out the cup with the ping pong ball floating in it. Elijah was surprised when he shoved it in his hand and said: "Drink up, brother!"

He hadn't drunk beer in a quite a long time, so it tasted foreign on his tongue, lacking the satisfying burn whiskey had.

"Bottoms up, Elijah," Stefan urged, his lips curved into a smug smile. "We have a game to play."

Kol went next, looking rather comical with one eye pinched shut and his hand moving slowly back and forth as he aimed the ball. He threw it much more delicately than Stefan, letting it bounce once on the table before it was swallowed by one of their opponent's cups.

"Wow," Damon remarked snidely, picking up the breached beer cup. "The little devil scores."

"If you're referring to my encounter with your _pal_ Matt," Kol said, his eyes blackened and his mouth twisted into a malicious sneer, "I still owe you a snapped neck for that, mate."

"I was actually thinking more about _you_ beating _me_ with a baseball bat," Damon said, grinning brightly, "But I thought we were even now." He gave Kol a mocking wink and gulped down the beer.

The game continued with the eldest Salvatore directing the ball into one of their cups with not much effort. Kol removed the cup and drained it, eying their adversaries over the brim with a vengeful glare.

Elijah smirked slightly, observing his brother. It was entertaining how seriously he could take such things.

Next the ping pong ball was handed to Elijah as it was his turn to throw. The crowd around them was oddly invested in the game, he noted, cheering and shouting, though they must have hardly known them. Stefan went to school with these people but the rest of them were known only as the brothers of him and Rebekah.

And as quite many people appeared to be on their side, Elijah concluded that Rebekah must have been rather popular.

He fixed his narrowed eyes on the cup he was aiming for, imagining Kol's enraged face in his head should he miss the target. The mental image seemed to work since the ball arrived at the place he'd meant it to.

Kol threw his hands up, overcome by pure happiness, and for a moment he looked as if he was about to hug him. "I knew I was right betting on you, Lijah!" he rejoiced, smacking his arm.

Elijah returned his smile, astonishingly proud of himself, his gaze moving to Stefan just in time to see him throw aside the empty beer cup, chuckling almost grimly.

"Why did you?" he suddenly asked his brother with some curiosity. His siblings hadn't even bothered to inform him of the party and Klaus or Rebekah would have made much more likely partners in a drinking game.

"Oh, come on! Klaus, stoned, would have probably knocked the table over by now and, judging by what I witnessed earlier, Rebekah would use it for dancing," he explained, cracking a mischievous grin.

Elijah still didn't stop drilling his brother with a stare, waiting patiently.

"I know, I know," Kol admitted, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. "We shouldn't have kept the whole party thing from you, but you know you would have never agreed to it and see how much fun we're having now!"

It was almost an apology, which he knew was the most he was going to get out of his brother. It was enough for Elijah, though; he wasn't going to be petty about it.

Meanwhile the game raged on. Stefan landed the ball in another one of their cups and Kol answered with the same. For a long time it seemed nobody would miss at all.

They'd come down to seven cups on their side and eight on the Salvatore's.

Damon seemed barely affected by the beer, probably being the heaviest drinker out of them. Well, perhaps rivaled by Kol, but he had had a hundred-year-long break in boozing, plus he'd finished a game with Matt prior to theirs, so it wasn't that surprising that he was swaying slightly where he stood.

Stefan had forsaken his usually grumpy mood, throwing easy smiles at anyone who happened to look at him. At some point Elijah even noticed him humming along with some song blasting from the living-room.

Elijah felt unfamiliarly inebriated himself. The world around him appeared somewhat brighter, the colors and lines more defined, but at the same time blurrier in the edges.

It was Kol's turn to throw and he looked a little jumpy as the atmosphere in the room had become very intense.

Kol's eyes were reduced into narrow slits, his face tight with concentration, but right at the same moment he sent the ball into flight, an ear-splitting bang rocked the entire house, startling everybody. It was followed by odd silence since the music had stopped playing before a storm of voices rose throughout the mansion.

Puzzled mutters and alarmed shouts filled the room only to be drowned by Kol's scream of absolute horror. The terrible blast hadn't coaxed a reaction other than a slight flinch out of him, but it had been enough for him to miss the target.

"That didn't count!" he yelled, now looking around furiously to spot the culprit who had ruined his shot.

"You wish!" Damon spat, angry even though his lips formed an evil smirk.

"Not a chance," Stefan said dismissively, a devious smile on his face. "Don't even try to pin it on something else. Fair is fair."

Kol glanced at Elijah, his stare urging him to take his side on this. He shifted on his place, giving his brother a curt nod, though he was more concerned about the racket that seemed to have increased after the blast. "Kol was distracted, he should get another shot," he stated calmly, one hand in his jacket pocket. "If the situation were reversed, you'd say the same."

Just as Stefan and Damon were about to protest, a wave of people flowed into the room accompanied by a cloud of smoke and the smell of burned plastic.

Some of them were coughing, others laughing and prattling incoherently. There were so many, that some of them knocked against the table, sending several cups of beer over the edge making the crowd in the room groan and shout insults at them.

Amidst the chaos Rebekah emerged, clad in a deep red dress and wearing an expression of utter annoyance. "Someone, fix the music!" she demanded, snatching one of the cups from the table and taking a dissatisfied sip from it.


	4. Chapter Four: Stupor

**Chapter Four: Stupor**

As all the people who had formerly occupied the living-room had fled to the other parts of the house, but mostly into the dining room, it wasn't _that_ surprising that all hell broke loose thereafter.

Several girls Elijah didn't know announced that they needed more alcohol to sooth their poor nerves, which was followed by thuds and clinks as several bottles of strong liquor were set on the dining table, their game of beer pong seemingly forgotten.

People gathered closer to mix drinks for themselves, leaving Kol, Stefan, Damon and himself standing on the opposite ends of the table, staring dumbly at each other.

Damon picked up one of the last remaining beer cups and took a generous swig from it. "So we can conclude that you lost by default," he said gloatingly, his mouth split into an ear-to-ear smile.

"_What!_" Kol said disbelievingly. "Even if we don't count the distraction that made me miss, the game was still ruined by _these…_" he explained frantically, disdain heavy in his voice as he motioned the mass of teenagers around them "_…people._"

"No no no," said Stefan shaking his head with a thinly veiled smirk on his face and Damon added smugly: "You lost, buddy, face it. It's time to pay up."

"That _only_ means that we have to settle the bet in another way," Kol stated simply, "Or are you afraid you'll get beaten in a _fair_ game?"

"The bet?" Elijah asked suspiciously while Damon and Stefan turned to each other to discuss Kol's proposal by themselves, arms crossed and faces ridiculously serious.

"Yeah, I guess it might have slipped my mind," his brother said innocently, "but, yes, we might have made a little bit of a wager, you know, to make things more interesting."

"What wager?" Elijah asked a little too quickly.

Kol smirked and winked at him, amusement shining in his eyes: "You'll find out soon enough… that is when _we_ defeat the Salvatore brothers, _then_ I'll be glad to tell you."

"Kol…" he warned. He really wasn't fond of surprises.

"Would it inspire you to be more competitive if I told you the losers have to run a circle around the house, naked?" he said, pouting his lips mockingly.

Elijah couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting skyward, but he didn't say anything. It was just a jape to get a rise out of him. Or that's what he hoped for anyway because he surely wasn't going to do anything like that.

As soon as they turned back towards the Salvatore's, their opponents straightened up, ending their secret meeting. "We have no reason to accept," Stefan said sharply, enjoying the situation by the look of it. "Even if the interruption wasn't anyone's fault, still we were in a winning position when the game was cancelled."

"The game wasn't _cancelled_," Elijah argued, suddenly much more interested in the outcome of their little dispute. "We demand a rematch."

"I say we settle it in a good old-fashioned fist fight instead," Kol growled, fed up with the Salvatore's reluctance. He took a few quick steps around the table, passing the unheeding high schoolers slurping their drinks, and shoved Stefan hard enough to make him fall on his back. And thankfully not hard enough to tear down a wall, Elijah thought.

At once all the eyes in the room turned to the two on them. Damon was instantly at his brothers side, yelling: "Whoa, what the hell?" and ready to take on Kol, though that would have been a colossal mistake.

Elijah sensed a disaster about to happen and strode forward to stand beside his brother, his hands spread out defensively as he figured how to defuse the situation. "Let's not act foolishly now," he said patronizingly, earning a condemning glare from Kol who was obviously in favor of beating the Salvatore brothers to a pulp.

Damon, ever the opportunist, had meanwhile apparently abandoned any prudence and took advantage of their momentary distraction by punching Kol right in the face, sending him flying into a cluster of people, his actions evoking a sea of groans and complains.

Kol was promptly back on his feet, the two pairs of brothers facing each other with an atmosphere so tense around them, you could slice it with a knife. Stefan's face was clouded by anger, Damon was rubbing his fist with a confident, an almost challenging sneer, the fool, and Kol was seething, his eyes black as coal.

Elijah just felt once again the desire to simply crawl into his bed, this time with a whole bottle of whiskey and drink himself into the peaceful world of sleep where even the loudest party couldn't disrupt his rest. Maybe he would have even followed through with his plan, had he not been afraid that the house would be replaced by a smoking crater by the morning.

"Ready for a _real_ beatdown?" Kol drawled lazily, but before anyone could answer, Rebekah was back with a colorful cocktail in her hand and an irritated expression on her face.

"Stop, you idiots!" she demanded coldly. "Can't you settle your petty quarrel in some other way?" She lowered her voice, probably drunk enough not to realize everyone would hear her anyway: "You better not ruin it for me."

Kol raised an eyebrow at her speech and Damon burst into laughter.

"Oh, tell them Elijah," she went on, ignoring the others, "you're the only one with a brain out of you four. Or do I have to call Nik?"

"She's right," Elijah confirmed coolly.

"That must be a first, then," Kol murmured, giving him a knowing smirk.

"And somebody, _please,_ fix the music!" Rebekah added as she turned to leave, though Elijah could have sworn he heard her muttering "_What idiots_" under her breath.

"Alright," Kol shrugged nonchalantly as if they hadn't been about to tear each other apart a second ago. He was nothing if not adaptable, his anger dissolving as quickly as it emerged. Still somewhere between him and the Salvatore's remained the unsaid '_later_'. "I have just the challenge we need in mind," he continued merrily.

Kol turned on his charm as he led the forces to set up another game. When Damon and Stefan insisted on having a say in the matter in which their long-overdue challenge was going to be settled, he just smiled sweetly and said that Damon should like it.

Soon the dining table was cleaned from all excessive stuff and twenty shot glasses were placed on each end. Kol dubbed the new game as "beer pong for the heavy drinker" or "the strong pong".

He left the room for a moment in search of something and Elijah found himself wondering _why_ and, moreover, _how_ he'd gotten himself into this, but it was clearly too late to back out now.

When his brother got back he had a huge bottle of vodka in one hand and a dice in the other as he rushed to the table to fill the shot glasses.

"Well _this_ should make it a little more interesting," Damon said, intrigued and delighted since he was a veteran drinker after all.

Elijah suspected nothing good would come out of it. He was already groggy from all the alcohol he'd consumed, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about getting blind drunk.

Stefan, too, looked to be a bit worried, but didn't say anything, just observing the setting from the corner of the room, his hands crossed over his chest.

Just before the game could start another loud noise sounded from the living-room as the music was established. "_Finally!_" Rebakah called up heavenward, turning around after giving them a last condemning glare, and headed out of the room, followed by a bunch of other people. Still most stayed to see how things were going to turn out in the dining room.

Once more they tossed a coin to see which team would start and as the luck would have it, this time it was them.

Getting a small dice into a shot glass turned out to be much more difficult than directing a ping pong ball into a beer cup, especially since you couldn't bounce it off the table so only a direct shot was possible.

That was shortly proven by Kol who missed his first throw, dragging a hearty laugh out of Stefan even. But the Salvatore's smug satisfaction was short lived when Damon couldn't deliver his shot as well.

After several rounds of failures on both sides, Stefan finally managed to fly the dice straight into one of the shot glasses and Elijah found himself somewhat eager to drain the container. It was impossible to stay sober in this company, though he had to admit – _this_ was interesting. It was definitely 'a challenge', as stupid as it might have been.

As the game proceeded dices started to land on target more often and that may have been a good or a bad thing, he really couldn't tell anymore…

* * *

Elijah blinked.

But this couldn't be right… how could _this_ be?

The last thing he remembered was playing that game with Kol and the Salvatore's and the shot glasses, but it wasn't the dining room that surrounded him.

"…and then he gave me his blood and cured me! I mean _come on!_" somebody's high-pitched voice rang in his ears. "Who would make somebody's boyfriend bite them on their _birthday_ and leave them dying only to swoop in in the last possible moment to save them!"

This really just couldn't be right, Elijah thought again, taking in the scene that unfolded around him. He was sitting on the steps in front of the mansion, he realized. But it was still dark outside, which was a good thing since that meant that not much time could have passed.

There were still people everywhere, gathered into smaller groups as they were smoking and laughing, he could hear fragments of their jokes.

"…after inviting me to the ball, giving me that dress…" the familiar voice continued, though somewhat slurred from, no doubt, copious amounts of liquor.

Elijah wondered vaguely whether his voice would sound like that if he'd open his mouth. After all he had had large quantities of booze, too. That was why he was probably in his current state of mind which was completely disconcerted, lost and unable to determine how he got there.

But the unrelenting voice kept going on. "…so I told him to stop it! Gosh, I told him some pretty horrible things… but still he wouldn't give up!" She sounded angry, but her voice was very lively. It seemed to make Elijah more lucid just by listening to it, even though he couldn't bring himself to concentrate enough to understand what she was ranting about. "…and then he gave me that drawing," suddenly her tone softened a little, "he sure can draw."

He wanted to tell her she was drunk and that she should go home, but his mouth refused to cooperate. His whole body felt tired and limp, legs spread loosely on the flagstones and hands gripping the edge of the steps so he wouldn't fall over. He hadn't been that drunk for centuries.

"So," he could feel her hand resting on his shoulder to give it a small pat before it retreated, "will you _please_ talk to him?"

Elijah squinted to see the girl's face. Blond hair, blue eyes… she was definitely familiar. He cleared his throat before speaking, but still managed to sound hoarse. "Talk to whom?"

She laughed at that, nudging his arm amicably. She thought he was joking. Elijah found that amusing. "Just tell me you'll talk to Klaus and I'll leave you alone, _promise!_" she said in that chipper voice of hers. "I mean _I'm with_ Tyler! He needs to understand that."

Finally Elijah was able to connect the face with the name. It was the baby vampire. Caroline. He frowned. When had they become… friends? It sounded unnatural somehow.

"It was nice talking to you, Elijah," she then said decisively, suddenly jumping up. She gave him a last flashing smile and trotted back inside. This had been certainly… strange. Especially since he had barely done any talking.

"Hey man," another voice sounded from above him. He looked up to see Jeremy coming to a halt next to him. "You don't look so good…"

Elijah blinked his eyes confusedly. His head was spinning and nothing seemed to make much sense.

"You wanna pick-me-up?" he said handing a smoking joint to him.

"Oh, no," he said sounding weary even to himself, "I believe I've had enough of pick-me-ups to last a century." He dove into his thoughts for a moment before he remembered something that made him sit up more stiffly. "Do you happen to know who won the beer pong?"


	5. Chapter Five: The Art of Mischief

_Author's Note: Wow, this was supposed to be three, maybe four chapters, but as it happens, I'm still not quite done yet. So I hope you'll bear with me._

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Art of Mischief**

Elijah found himself in the bathroom, splashing water to his face. That must have been what brought him back to his senses.

Jeremy had been a dead end, that he remembered. Stoned and red-eyes as he was, Elijah couldn't say he really blamed the boy for not paying attention.

Cold water felt nearly heavenly on his face as Elijah's sight started to become clearer again. Still his head felt as if filled with cotton, his vision swaying tediously.

He'd set a goal for himself to locate Kol and find out what had happened exactly. His memories of their game of "beer pong for the heavy drinker", or whatever his brother had named his half-mad flash of wit, were hazy at best.

The only thing Elijah could recall clearly was the bitter taste of vodka in his mouth that made him want to barf, but obviously he managed to contain himself. If he indeed had vomited, it would have probably been his low-point in at least a century and he couldn't have that.

He listened intensely, trying to find Kol's voice amidst the hundred that rang throughout the house in a vain hope he'd be able to pinpoint his brother without leaving the bathroom. Unfortunately he couldn't, but he was able to pick up on another conversation, recognizing Stefan's voice.

Elijah closed his eyes in concentration, tuning into the discourse with some difficulty. He must have been close by…

"…_I can explain…_" was the phrase he heard first. It was hardly more than a mutter.

But the voice that countered him was much louder and also so very familiar. "_Are you mad?_" Elena hissed, her voice shocked. "_If anyone else had walked in right now…_" she trailed off, seemingly at loss of words.

"_Elena…_" Stefan said, his tone burdened with some guilt, but Elijah was surprised to find some amusement in it as if the whole situation was somehow funny to him at the same time, even though he tried to remain serious.

Elijah had alarm bells ringing in his ears at a moment's notice, so he knew he had to see what this was about. He rushed out of the bathroom, nearly bumping into some bewildered girl, and turned towards the direction of Stefan's voice. He'd concluded that they must have been in the pantry. Mostly because that's where they kept the blood.

As ever so often, he happened to be right about it. Elena let out a startled yelp when he entered the small room, almost dropping the glass of amber liquid she was holding. When she realized it was Elijah, she sighed with relief, giving him this sweet and helpless look that said 'I don't know what to do with him'.

Elijah's eyes moved around the room, taking in the empty blood bags that littered the floor, and then Stefan who lied in the middle of them.

"Sorry, man," the culprit said, so very uncharacteristically. "I guess I have the munchies." He ended his confession with a weird snort which was followed by that laugh he'd been trying to hold back with such difficulty.

"Are you high?" Elena said unbelievingly and a bit accusingly. She rolled her eyes, taking a long sip of her drink to shut herself up, it seemed.

"He is," Elijah nodded, feeling the hunger tugging at his insides at the sight of the blood bags. He ignored it.

"I am," Stefan piped up, his face sobering up for the moment, "and I drank all your blood. Sorry again for that… But," he paused for a moment, looking at them in a way Elijah had hardly ever seen Stefan look. His face was relaxed, peaceful, and there was no trace of the burdens that he usually seemed to be carrying around with him. "But I…" he tried to find the fitting words, "I just feel so damn good right now."

Elijah noted that Elena's lips curved so ever slightly upwards, involuntarily perhaps, her eyes softened and she shook her head, her eyes shining kindly. She handed his drink for him to hold and crouched down, wordlessly picking up the empty blood bags and stacking them away.

"Good night, Stefan," she said quietly and Elijah opened the door for her, giving the drink back to its owner.

He followed her outside, closing the door softly behind him. They stood there silently for a second. Elena looked to be deep in thought, Elijah, on the other hand, felt as if his head was completely void of anything at all.

"You look… spent," Elena announced, that light smile of hers sneaking back to her features.

Elijah felt his brow furrow. He looked down at himself confusedly, unable to contain a bout of laughter from escaping his lips after a very short examination. To say that his suit was ruffled would have been an understatement. It was indeed in dire need of ironing, not to mention his tie knot had become very loose and his dress shirt was stained with what he assumed to be whiskey, since its smell was quite overpowering around him.

As he brushed a fleck of ash off his sleeve, he remembered something. "I saw your brother," he said in his 'brilliant' maneuver of leading their conversation as far away from his appearance as possible.

"Yea, I ran into him too," she muttered absently, then turned to face Elijah directly. "Is it some new torture plan of Klaus's? To get everyone I love high out of their minds?"

There was a short pause between them. "It would be a very hippie-like approach, I suppose…" Elijah remarked thoughtfully and a split-second later they both uttered a small laugh, almost in unison, which made them chuckle again.

"At least I prefer that to murder _any_ time, so I'll call it progress," Elena said mock proudly, raising her glass in the air.

Elijah glanced around to find himself something to toast with. Most of the people passing by them in the corridor were holding plastic cups but he spotted a boy who'd gotten his hands on a tasteful tumbler, no doubt out of Klaus's collection.

As the boy walked past them, Elijah put his hand on his shoulder, swiping the glass from his hand, and looked deep into his eyes while he said politely "That would be mine, thank you."

He rose the tumbler up in the air, smiling pleasantly at Elena, and then brought it to his lips. Elijah was fully aware that he shouldn't drink any more considering his current state, but what's one toast in the grand scheme of things?

* * *

They were in the living-room, Elena and he, standing by the arched doorway, observing people.

"…and _that_ guy," Elena pointed her finger at a tall, muscular boy with not much subtlety, "he's in my history class. He thought that the Truman Doctrine was something out of that movie with Jim Carrey, you know – _The Truman Show_."

Elijah looked at him astonishingly, his brow raised.

"So I can't say I appreciate the company much," she laughed a bit drunkenly, her eyes gliding over the room, "but I guess Rebekah invited pretty much everyone."

When she looked back at Elijah, Elena burst into laughter upon seeing the expectant smile on his face.

"Right," she drawled, obviously getting his point that she hadn't been invited in the first place. "But I'm still glad I came."

"You are?" Elijah asked that courteous smile still firmly in place. "I heard the company was rather poor, so…"

Elena shrugged, keeping her face straight as she met his eyes. "There _are_ some exceptions." She drained her glass before she continued. "But truthfully, I _really am_ glad I happened to ran into you. I thought I would be the sober, boring moral support of Caroline's, but… well," she snorted, "here I am."

Though Elijah heard her words his focus had been drawn across the room. He nudged Elena's arm, gesturing towards the table covered with… DJ equipment?

"Is _that_ Kol?" he asked, almost choking on his drink.

His vision wasn't as sharp as usually, but there was definitely a brown-haired boy standing behind the desk, blonde girl on either side of him. Elijah narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly as the suspect leaned closer to one of his companions, whispering something in her ear that made them both laugh.

"Um…" Elena started, squinting her eyes as well, "I think so."

Elijah pricked up his ears, listening intensely to catch even one word out of his mouth. It was nearly impossible in the noisy room but somehow he caught one sentence and the voice was doubtlessly Kol's. "_Not one decent rag to be found on this playlist_," he cursed, his articulation sloppy from booze.

Yes, that was certainly Kol, Elijah mused, his mouth curving into a wide smirk without much thought. His words were a cast iron proof of his origins; he'd been an avid listener of rag-time music in his time. And that had been one hundred years ago, when the genre had still been popular. Now it was buried somewhere in the history, forgotten.

"_Not one_ _what?_" Elijah heard one of the blondes murmur before he tuned out and focused back on Elena.

He gave her a dashing smile, for what reason, he couldn't really explain though. "I'm delighted you came."

Elena chuckled at his sudden confession as they had strayed from the subject only a moment ago. Her expression appeared mild and kind in the dim-lit living-room and for a short moment the two of them simply stared at each other with modest smiles plastered on their faces.

Seemingly out of the blue a short, freckled boy stopped in front of them, a silver tray balanced on his arm, topped with glasses of bourbon.

Elijah looked at him somewhat confusedly before he settled on taking two glasses off the tray, handing one to Elena. "That's awfully nice of you," he said to the boy, quite considerately, "thank you."

He only gave him a curt nod and walked away.

"That's nice, isn't it?" Elijah pondered, watching the retreating back of the self-appointed butler.

"Not really," Elena mumbled, her smile replaced with a scowl, "I saw Kol compelling him earlier."

"Of course," Elijah sighed disappointedly. "I can't imagine what else he's done already, I'm not entirely sure I _want_ to know."

Elena was speechless for a moment as her eyes flickered to the middle of the room, her jaw dropping almost comically. "Oh, I don't think either of us will have much choice in the matter," she declared, both annoyance and disapproval heavy in her voice.

The situation on the previously densely populated dance floor had changed while they'd been busy talking. The hordes of people had retreated closer to the edges of the room, the spotlight surrendered to a couple who didn't seem to notice anyone else but each other.

The way Damon and Rebekah were twirling was somewhere between… Elijah found his head empty when he tried to explain it to himself. To his drunken mind they reminded a freight train gone off the rails, but still speeding towards the abyss, which was, if not obvious, very, very scary, but also disturbingly impressive.

Elijah glanced at Elena who was still staring at the two, probably not even aware that her mouth was hanging open.

"I thought she hated him," he pointed out.

"Kol," she said promptly, her eyes as if clued on the presumptuous pair.

Elijah's mind flashed back to her earlier words, leaving him puzzled and searching her face for answers.

"I saw him pouring vodka into her cocktail _every_ time she wasn't looking. So my guess would be that she's pretty much wasted."

"Naturally," he muttered, once again having underestimated Kol's mastery in the art of mischief. "I'm sensing Rebekah isn't the only one who's getting a scolding tomorrow," he added, glancing at Damon.

"Noo," Elena argued fervently, shaking her head as her eyes jumped back to Elijah. "He doesn't have to explain himself to me. I am _not_ his girlfriend, he owes me nothing."

"But you do love them both, don't you?" Elijah said before he could stop himself.

"I don't know," she admitted, giving her head another shake while her gaze dropped to her feet. "All I know is that I'm tired of feeling guilty all the time. I keep telling myself I _can't_ possibly love them both, because that would make me just as bad as Katherine, but…" She suddenly started to laugh.

"What?" he didn't understand…

"Talk about a doomed love triangle," she said between chuckling, though there was something sad to it, he noted. "You know, I'm not a complete idiot, though," she went on after downing a mouthful of bourbon, "I know I have to let them go, I'm just… not quite finished with that whole process."

"It's not your fault they're so willing to throw away their brotherly bond," Elijah reasoned. He found it unfair that Elena alone beat herself up for it when the Salvatore brothers were as much to blame.

It was clearly not what she wanted to hear, he realized a second later as Elena set aside her empty tumbler and said: "It only makes me worse for letting them." She shot an almost tortured look at Elijah and announced that she needed a breath of fresh air; then she was gone.

"Jealous much?" Rebekah's voice sounded from right next to him, her eyes following Elena.

Elijah only gave her an irritated glare, snatching the cocktail glass from her hand. "Lay off the alcohol, Rebekah," he groaned, "You're acting frivolously."

"Oh," she sneered maliciously, "you're the one to talk, as if you weren't downing shots an hour ago and flirting with the _doppelganger_, no less, just a moment ago, you hypocrite."

Elijah just rolled his eyes and took a swig of Rebekah's cocktail, wrinkling his nose slightly at the strong taste of ethanol.

"By the way, have you seen Matt?" his sister asked, her gaze darting searchingly around the room.

He thought about it for a moment, unable to conjure the boy's face in his mind. "I don't recall…" he started quietly. "Wait, the last I heard of him, he was…" he stopped, sucking in an exasperated breath, "…with Kol." His last words were grim. Why did every questionable affair have to lead back to his little brother? Was he Rome where all roads led? It was most infuriating and made Elijah consider it rather fortunate that he was in his boozy state and therefore not prone to worry too much about anything.

Alcohol clearly didn't have the same calming effect on his sister since upon hearing Elijah's words Rebekah tossed her hands in the air with frustration and rushed out of the living-room before he could ask her if she'd seen Niklaus.

But just as the thought passed through his head, he spotted him across the room, near the exit that led towards the entrance hall. His brother seemed to be in a hurry, taking a few quick steps to catch up with… that was Caroline, wasn't it? He had taken hold of her wrist, obviously wanting to stop her from leaving and by the way his mouth was moving, Elijah presumed that it was emitting heartfelt apologies or something of the kind.

Before he had the time to tune in on the conversation, rude as it may be, the music was turned down and an annoying creak pierced the air as the microphone was switched on.

"This next piece of music, though unfamiliar to me, but," Kol's voice sounded through the speakers followed by a wholehearted laughter, "but so rightly named, it just must have been meant for the man across the room!" He made a grand gesture towards Klaus, who had stopped in his tracks, his attention centered on Kol. He didn't appear delighted by his brother addressing him, his face cautious if not frightened even.

"So this one goes to my dear brother and the lovely girl he fancies," Kol explained with a wicked grin on his lips, "_She Fucking Hates Me_ by… uh, there's no composer mentioned."

As the music started again, the dance floor that had been relieved of Damon and Rebekah was taken back with haste and loud enthusiasm, more people spilling into the room through both archways.

Klaus's face had turned very, very serious, Elijah observed, his eyebrows dropped dangerously low as his angry eyes fixed on Kol, who was giving him a derisive wink from behind the DJ's station, one arm around each of the blonds on his either side.

Caroline had used the distraction to flee, it seemed.

Elijah felt the heat of the room make his head spin faster, wondering whether he'll remember any of tonight's incidents in the morning or whether it will all be as blurry as the game of beer pong. The haziness seemed to want to crash down on him, but he fought against it, blinking his eyes constantly to refocus his vision. There was still stuff to be done before he could surrender to the soothing pull of alcohol and escape his nagging subconscious.

He was already making a list in his head of all the things he had yet to fix:

Number one – sneaking the cooler with the blood bags inside the house from the trunk of his car before his siblings made a feast out of the guests.

Two, getting those explanations he sought from Kol.

Three, catching Klaus and fulfilling the promise he made to Caroline. Though, to be quite frank, he didn't remember giving his word to her, but regardless... He had to make up for his drunken behavior somehow.

Four, making sure Matt Donovan was still among the living.

Number five was optional, though he felt that talking some sense into his intoxicated sister was much needed. So that was to be included in the plan.

And that was it! Five simple things. Elijah smiled to himself. Everything was under his firm control; he was on his way of restoring order and reason. Or was it the booze talking? Did it matter, really? What _did_ matter? And what was 'matter'? Was it a substance with measurable mass or was it something immaterial? That was surely an interesting question to contemplate…


	6. Chapter Six: Touring the Grounds

_Author's Note: sorry for the lengthy pause. I actually finished this a while ago, but haven't had the chance to upload. Anyway, beware, some semi-philosophical drunken ramblings ahead._

* * *

**Chapter Six: Touring the Grounds**

Elijah was wandering around the house quite aimlessly. He was searching for someone… wasn't he? Why, yes – Elena. They had had a rather pleasant conversation about… something. He had wanted to resume it. No, wait, there was something else…

The list! That needed to be completed before he could spare any time for leisure.

This really wasn't alright. Elijah was annoyed with himself. His mind felt like a sieve, all the important details flowing right through the small holes and to somewhere he couldn't access them anymore. How very inconvenient.

It was surprising that it was continually dark outside, Elijah mused vaguely. This night felt incredibly long already and yet the morning was still out of sight, waiting somewhere around the bend.

The true testimonial to the night's longitude was the condition of the mansion. Everywhere he looked, every single surface appeared to be cluttered with empty bottles and glasses and cups. They had also found their way to the floor, clattering noisily under his feet as he walked.

Across the dining room table laid a strange girl, her bare stomach for some reason covered with lemon wedges and an impressive heap of salt. Around her stood a large group of people, each member holding a shot glass in their hands. One bulky boy with short hair was going around the table with a bottle of tequila in his hand, filling the glasses with a huge grin on his face.

The living-room had taken a step back in noise-making, it seemed. Some slow song was blasting from the speakers, a number of drunken couples twirling on the floor. In many cases it had less to do with dancing, Elijah noted, and more with dragging one's partner along, or simply swaying in one place with not much grace.

Every couch in the sitting room was still occupied by someone, some of the occupants in rather comical positions, their heads fallen to the side, mouths ajar as sleep had claimed them. A small circle of people had gathered in the middle of the room, sitting on the floor surrounded by playing cards and half-full cups. To Elijah it looked like they were playing some sort of game, but he was far too inebriated to try and understand what that was all about.

He felt as if he'd gotten lost in some bizarre wonderland where people acted in most unexplainable, irrational ways that left him utterly confused.

His siblings had once again scattered, nowhere to be found just when he needed to talk to them. Really, what was he going to do with himself?

* * *

The next thing he knew, he was outside near the edge of the forest, sitting on the cooler with a glass of blood in his hand.

As the rusty smell hit him, he felt his stomach churn greedily and gave in to its demands by raising the glass to his lips and taking a small sip of the cold rich liquid.

It was a beautiful night, he observed, watching the dark silent trees and the vast grounds around the mansion divided with flagstone paths, hedges and flowerbeds, and illuminated by lights that ran along the pathways. The emerald lawn led uphill where a gazebo stood and to the far left of the house was the small car park, full of shiny vehicles.

Despite the muffled music that floated over from the mansion, mixed with the echoes of conversations taking place in front of the house where the smokers had gathered, the backyard was somehow peaceful and the fresh air did wonders to Elijah's senses, shoving aside the dizziness.

He leaned back, enjoying his moment of solitude, when a subdued cry made him tense again, his back straightening instinctively. Where did that come from? And, moreover, what was it?

Elijah froze in place, waiting for the sound to repeat itself but peace had once again settled over the grounds, nothing seemingly out on place. His eyes moved suspiciously, trying to notice any movement in his view, but there was none.

A few strained minutes passed and then it was there again. A voice, or was it a shout? Let it not be a scream, he thought.

And suddenly he was on his feet. He tossed the empty glass into the cooler and tucked the container under his arm while he started walking towards the direction of the noise, his eyes narrowed and alive with agitation.

Elijah followed the tree line father away from the mansion and then into the woods as he had the feeling that the sound had originated from somewhere there. He stumbled over fallen branches and on the uneven ground that could be all blamed on the liquor considering the lack of his usual gracefulness and poise.

When the voice sounded again, it was much closer and much clearer. Did it call for help? So it seemed…

After another minute or two Elijah reached a small clearing and on the other side of it he saw the answer to his question, which made him sigh quite irritably.

Matt Donovan. Tied to a tree, no less.

"What happened?" Elijah asked tiredly, setting the cooler down and walking over to the boy.

"Is someone there?" Matt hollered again, his head lolling from side to side, and his voice cracked from exhaustion and booze, which he'd obviously had had far too much as any other person who'd set a foot to the party.

Then his eyes focused on Elijah and a goofy smile spread across his face. "Saving grace," he muttered gladly.

"How did you end up here?" Elijah asked again, calmly untying his hands.

Matt laughed at that, his entire demeanor leaving his 'savior' completely puzzled. Had someone tied him to a tree, he'd be furious, but here was this boy, chuckling so merrily that it seemed unnatural.

"I had _the craziest_ game of beer pong with your brother," he explained, the grin ever-present on his lips. "I hardly ever get beaten, but, man, this dude has some _serious_ throwing skills!"

"This still doesn't explain…" Elijah started only to be cut off my Matt.

"I'm getting there!" he announced cheerfully. "I lost the game and he thought there ought to be some sort of penalty for that so he compelled the rest of the football team to tie me to a tree. That was _not cool_." His voice had grown sullen with the last sentence, his brow wrinkling as if he'd only now realized that Kol's actions hadn't been all that nice.

"I can see," Elijah nodded quietly, done with the untying. He stepped back a few paces, watching Matt as he massaged his wrists gently. "I think it would be better if the whole incident would not end up dampening your spirits, wouldn't you agree?"

Matt's eyes snapped to him, his face sobered up at once, confused and, dare he say, slightly frightened. "I'm alright, man," he said cautiously, trying to laugh it off, "no harm done."

Elijah still deemed it better if his family name wouldn't be dragged through the mud quite as thoroughly as this night seemed to be achieving, so he set his palm on Matt's shoulder, feeling him flinch under his touch, and gazed deep into his nervous eyes.

Concentrating on two blue orbs that tried to dodge his stare so desperately was harder than he expected. Suddenly all his dizziness seemed to have returned with a vengeance, his sight blurring and flipping back into focus so very annoyingly he wasn't completely sure in the quality of his compulsion.

"Forget…" he commanded, his tongue clumsy from the liquor and his mind nearly absent of even the most common words, "_…this._" He waved his hand at the surroundings, finding his wording lame, but apparently efficient as Matt's scowl relaxed into a timid smile within seconds.

"Hello," he said dumbly when he noticed Elijah, looking as if he'd never met him before at all.

"Run along now," he sighed dismissively, wanting to already be done with this affair. Matt only gave him one more blank look, then hurried away.

Elijah was once again alone.

He picked up the cooler that he'd left on the edge of the clearing and crossed off one of the tasks in his mental list as he started walking back towards the mansion.

It didn't take long for the forest to thin and the well-groomed grounds to become visible again, splendid in their nightly lights. He strolled over the freshly cut grass, inhaling the moist night air, when he felt an obstacle before him, almost falling flat on his face.

Thankfully he had enough balance to manage and stay standing, his eyes inspecting the lawn to see the object he had stumbled upon.

"Please don't step on me," a soft, almost inaudible voice said, its tone implying that its owner was in some far-away land beyond the reach of any sober individual.

"Elena?" he uttered surprisedly.

"Yea, it's me – Elena Gilbert or…" she paused thoughtfully, giggling gently at some inner jape of hers, he presumed. "Or Elena, daughter of Grayson." She said it in a low, rough tone. "Or Elena of House Gilbert," she went on, now sounding overcome with mock pride, then burst into an unrestrained laughter.

She must have been… what do the young folks say? Wasted? Smashed? Loaded?

"What are you doing here?"

He recalled something about her going out for a breath of fresh air, but the phrase didn't include lounging on the grass, gazing heavenward in a drunken stupefaction. At least not in his book.

"I'm thinking…" Elena said dreamily, her eyes never leaving the vast sky above them, "…I want to be a star."

"You mean famous, accomplished, acknowledged?"

"No…" she shook her head severely, her forehead creased as if she didn't understand what on earth he could mean with that, "…a _star_."

Elijah frowned at such a peculiar statement. "How much of this have you had?" he asked carefully, picking up a half-empty bottle of bourbon and rotating it in his hands as he examined the label.

"Enough," she murmured with satisfaction.

"So why do you want to be a star?" Elijah inquired, cynical and genuinely interested at the same time.

She was obviously drunk, but it was fascinating to explore how her dazed mind worked. There was just something, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, that he found captivating about her character. Qualities he admired, yes, but more than that, something simple and sweet that made people want to be near her.

Elena finally turned her eyes to him, a small smile dancing on her lips, and patted the ground beside her. He indulged her, yet again dropping the cooler down before he sat on the cool grass.

"Just look at these puppies," she said, referring to the stars, surely, though her words were odd to him. "Who wouldn't want to be a part of that gang? So peaceful, so serene, so unattainable…"

Was it possible that he was too sober for this conversation? Elijah unscrewed the bottle and retrieved his tumbler from the cooler to pour some bourbon into it. He sipped the drink, offering it to Elena next. There was no returning to sensibility before morning, anyway. That ship had sailed a _long_ time ago, that much was clear.

"Ew, it's bloody," she groaned, pushing his hand away.

Elijah glanced at the glass, verifying that the container was, indeed, smeared with blood. He didn't mind it at this particular moment, but she obviously did. It would have been disturbing, he noted, if she hadn't.

"I think it would get boring," he said, propping himself up on his elbows as he stretched his legs on the lawn, looking at the sky. There seemed to be more stars visible tonight than usually, but that was probably due to the double vision, courtesy of the booze.

"What?"

"Being a star."

"Doesn't living get boring after a thousand years?" she said, but not sarcastically, her voice remained soft and curious.

"In a way, I suppose, but there's always _something_ to do. And I don't mean running from your half-crazed brother or anything other supernatural. I mean learning, improving, developing yourself, what else can a person do with too much time on their hands?"

"Get wasted on a house party with a bunch of high school brats?" Elena suggested innocently and they both laughed. "So have you found the meaning of life yet?" she quipped, now definitely teasing him.

"Only that there is none. There can't be, it's just a desperate attempt to simplify life and therefore bound to fail," he said, surprised how easily the words rolled off his tongue as if the bourbon had been fuel to his dying engine.

"You're saying life can't be simplified?"

"Can _you_ simplify it?" he challenged, sneaking a glance at her. She looked intrigued.

There was a short moment of silence as Elena thought about it, her brow furrowed.

"Simplification is accomplished by defining life to oneself. Everyone lives in their own twisted reality, right? So why not find your own personal metaphor for it… For example, I think life is a tapestry!" she ended chipperly.

"A tapestry?" he laughed, quirking an eyebrow at the immense sky.

"You know that song? _My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue…_" she hummed. "That's the way I want mine to turn out. _A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold._"

"Are you high?" Elijah couldn't help but wonder.

Elena jerked to a sitting position, her hand flying to her chest, above her heart. "What? Noooo!" She laughed when she saw the quizzical look on his face. "Really, I'm not!" Elena insisted, then, lowering her brow, she made her face all serious and said solemnly, though jestingly, "Upon my honor!"

"Alright," Elijah smirked, "I believe you."

"You know what?" Elena mused, shooting him an appraising look, "I think you'd make a perfect star. They're sort of mysterious and so are you."

"How's so?" he smiled amicably.

"Oh, come on! Look at yourself!" she half-shouted amusedly, shifting so she was on her knees quite close to him. "Firstly – the suits," she declared, brushing her finger against the lapel of his jacket. "_Nice fabric_," she muttered to herself before she continued, "Do you ever wear anything else?"

"Not often, I guess…" he stuttered, "I happen to like them."

She chuckled at his statement. "That is _exactly_ what I'm saying!" she pointed out, though Elijah couldn't quite understand her reasoning. "Secondly," she went on, "you're a thousand years old immortal. If that doesn't make a guy mysterious than I really have no clue what does."

Elijah could only stare at her, not knowing how to comment.

"Sorry if I'm being rude, but how old are you really?" she suddenly asked, her eyes lit with curiosity, "Because 'a thousand' is pretty vague…"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had no desire to remind himself of his age. Not tonight.

"Alright," Elena nodded, tilting her head as if they were playing some clever game. "More of less?"

Elijah felt his mouth twitch, his shoulders shifting uncertainly.

She obviously took it as more, he concluded observing her reaction.

"Holy shit!" Elena blurted, pinching her eyes shut after realizing she'd said it aloud. "I mean… _wow_," she corrected herself quickly. "It's just… you're, um, what, more than fifty times my age? That is…" She fell silent, her eyes unfocused, biting her lip.

Elijah found himself almost impressed by her drunken mathematics skills, unable to actually process her words.

"And I'm not trying to say you're ancient or anything like that," Elena added frantically, gesturing wildly with one hand. "I'm just saying that you've probably seen some _pretty_ awesome times." She nodded to herself while speaking, a smug little smile on her face as if she was imagining what grand adventures she would have had if she'd be as old.

"I suppose," he smirked, not knowing what to say exactly.

He would have enjoyed discussing history with her sometimes, maybe share some of his memories, and hear her thoughts on any subject really, but right now… actually right now was the perfect time and place, simply not the perfect condition, or even adequate one for that matter, to trade meaningful sentiments.

Nevertheless, Elijah was saved from a further reply when the sprinklers suddenly started working and at once both of them were up on their feet, scampering towards the flagstone path. Half way there, Elijah remembered the cooler he'd forgotten to pick up and turned around on his heels to retrieve it.

When he finally reached the pathway, at least twice as wet as Elena, he had to raise an eyebrow at the way she was laughing, half-stooped while clapping her hands on her knees. At such a sight, he couldn't help but smirk a little himself.

"That much for stargazing," Elijah said.

Elena straightened up again, trying to brush droplets of water off her sleeves though she'd managed to be fast enough not to get soaked.

She looked up, smiling. "I think I've had just about enough of fresh air. Let's go inside."

They were about half way around the mansion, strolling towards the front entrance, chatting easily, when Elijah heard some rather worrisome shouts and racket rising in an uproar. Like some bomb of sound had exploded.

By the volume and direction of the commotion he concluded that something was going on in front of the house and also that it was likely nothing pleasant.

"What?" Elena asked with a frown, probably noticing how his head had jerked up.

Elijah only gave her a look and they both quickened their pace instantly.

It didn't take long before Elena was able to hear the voices as well. Some of them sounded familiar.

"Oh, Lord," she sighed, rolling her eyes, "this is _not_ good."

Elijah agreed wordlessly, tightening his hold around the cooler. "We better hurry, it sounds like somebody's being murdered," he said, surprised to find a note of dark humor in his tone. Maybe it was funny in a way. At least it was never boring…


	7. Chapter Seven: The Brawl

_Author's Note: just wanted to say thanks for your reviews, follows and favs!_

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**Chapter Seven: The Brawl**

"_Oh, God_," Elena sighed yet again, both exasperated and morbidly amused, when the front of the mansion became visible.

A large circle of people had gathered around five figures who were in the middle of a very heated dispute.

So many things seemed to be happening at the same time, it was hard to take it all in at once.

Damon and Kol were perhaps a few feet apart, locked in a fierce stare down while hissing threats at each other. There was a red gash on Damon's forehead and blood was trickling down from his mouth and chin. Kol appeared to be in a somewhat better condition though his nose was a bloody mess.

Right behind Damon stood Stefan, holding his brother back by his arm, preaching something in the lines of "peace and love", trying to calm Damon down, though his words seemed to have an opposite effect.

Kol was restrained by Niklaus, who had his hands on his shoulders, although he looked to be as angry as his brother, his eyes moving between Damon and Stefan as he was quietly explaining to Kol that this was not the right time for a fight with so many witnesses around them.

The gap between the two pairs of brothers was occupied by Rebekah, her hands extended in opposite directions. Her expression was determined as she demanded them to stop "this insanity".

The mass of people around them was as if chanting in unison for the fighting to continue. The low collective "fight, fight, fight" acting as a background to the louder, ruder commentary, bouts of jolly laughter, and other drunken shenanigans.

There must have been at least a few of dozen people out there, more spilling out of the front door.

It was amazing how much noise the whole situation generated.

Among the crowd Elijah spotted a wide-eyed Jeremy, a bottle of beer in his hand, and an anxious looking Caroline.

Elena and he became to a halt a little farther away, staring at the scene in front of them, not knowing whether to intervene or not. She'd brought her hands to her face as if trying to shield herself while her mouth formed a small 'o'.

"You really needn't prove anything to us, dear brother," Rebekah sneered at Kol, "we all know you're mad enough to do _just_ about anything."

And they did, truly. Over the centuries his family had grown well aware of Kol's impulsive nature and his obsession-nearing desire to be emerge as the winner from anything he'd set his mind on. Though, it could be said that he wasn't the only family member who possessed that particular quality.

But Rebekah was, of course, the one who always knew how to make things worse. She enjoyed pouring fuel into the fire, regardless whether she was doing it knowingly or not.

"Oh, stop protecting your little boyfriend," Kol spat, flashing an annoyed smirk at her, his fists clenched.

"Little boyfriend? That's rich, brother," Klaus laughed gleefully, his eyes on the Salvatore across from them. He was obviously enjoying the taunting Damon part of the whole thing.

"Hey hey hey," Damon piped up, acting unaffected by the jibe, "I am in _no way_ her boyfriend so let's get our facts straight here."

Rebekah looked slightly offended by the definitive words, her eyebrows risen as if to say 'you'd be lucky to be with me, you idiot'. Or maybe Elijah was just making stuff up, seeing things? He didn't really know… and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know anything regarding his sister and the eldest Salvatore. Anyhow, they were all far too drunk to act adequately.

"_Come on_," Damon drawled, grinning, "if you'd consider everyone I've slept with my girlfriend, you'd have one hell of a competition on your hands. And by the way, I don't need any protection." He directed the last part at Kol. He really was a smug, arrogant buffoon, Elijah noted, but then again, alcohol had the tendency to make people unduly courageous.

"Sure about that, mate?" Klaus said, smiling pleasantly.

"_Please_, guys, can't we be reasonable for a moment now," Stefan almost pleaded. "Why can't we all just be friends?"

"As soon as your brother takes his leave," Klaus said, shooting Damon a warning look.

"Oh, so _your_ little boyfriend can stay?" Rebekah demanded irritatedly.

"Rebekah," he growled at her, "You know I have the greatest respect for the 'family above all' notion, but I won't stand for cheap slandering."

"God forbid, you start with the daggers again," Kol groaned, pulling away from him, which made Klaus's grip on his shoulders to tighten in order to keep him from moving away.

Elijah wondered briefly what the eager 'spectators' thought of the whole daggers ordeal, but his attention was pulled back into the conversation before he could contemplate further.

"_Guys_, honestly," Stefan tried again, his gaze moving from Damon to Rebekah, Kol and then Klaus. "Let's go inside, have a drink, and discuss this in a friendly atmosphere." He gave them a goofy grin, which, Elijah assumed, was supposed to gain support.

"I think that would be sensible," Klaus nodded demonstratively, beckoning them to agree.

"Of course, and maybe we'll have a slice of cake and brush each others' hair while we have this heart-to-heart?" Damon said mockingly. "Ugh, go back to Dreamland, Stefan, this is for the grown-ups."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Stefan replied exasperatedly, voice flat, "borrow me a unicorn, will you?"

"No need to be snappy about it! It's just the simple truth – the good Stefan is back and wants to get all chummy with our freaking archenemy," Damon said snidely, pointing his finger at Klaus with the last phrase.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, Damon, we can't exactly kill him!" Stefan nearly shouted, pushing his brother enough to separate the two.

Elijah cringed at his use of words, once again thinking what the crowd around them made out of the conversation. At least he said '_can't_ kill him' and not the other way around. Because, truthfully, he wasn't very enthusiastic about compelling some half a hundred people, not to mention how difficult that would be.

Klaus, whose eyes had grown narrower, pulled Kol back instinctively, probably expecting Damon to plunge at them, but he only had eyes for his brother.

He smiled at Stefan, but there was nothing pretty about it, and when he spoke, though his tone was light, there was real venom to his words.

"Oh, so in that case I suppose it's okay if Klaus uses El-" He stopped for a second, glancing at the excited teenagers around them. Elijah had to hand it to him, he might have been a fool, but he wasn't stupid.

Apparently whatever he had had the chance to say was enough for Stefan to get the point – …if Klaus uses Elena as a blood bank for his hybrid army.

It seemed as if a dark cloud fell over Stefan's face during the few seconds he took to digest his brother's hurtful words. His eyes turned black and his shoulders became tense, and then, the next instant he swung his fist at Damon's head.

Elijah could hear Elena gasp beside him, jerking a bit forward as if she wanted to rush over and stop them but couldn't quite force herself to move.

Damon moved aside fast enough not to take a hit straight in his face, but Stefan's fist still grazed his jaw.

Another quick moment later they collided, they're fists flashing as they tried to punch each other. And although they weren't crazy enough to do so in vampire speed, some excessive strength was definitely used.

"This is priceless," Kol sighed, smiling happily.

"Who invited these two idiots, anyway? Because it sure as hell wasn't me," Rebekah whined, seemingly finally fed up with Damon's behavior. She set her hands on her hips as she looked around like she was expecting the person responsible to step forward. No one did though.

She shrugged, annoyed, and stepped forward to separate the two Salvatore's, whose scrimmage looked more like a wrestling match, their arms wrapped around each other's necks as they tried to deliver blows in the close proximity.

Everybody, even Klaus and Kol, observed curiously as Rebekah tried to pull them apart, which turned out to be a lot more difficult than expected. Somehow the whole farce ended with Rebekah getting an elbow in the face, making her stagger back, staring at the brothers furiously.

"No, Rebekah, darling," Klaus cautioned her, sensing she might act rashly.

The Salvatore brothers had stopped brawling, their hands still entwined as they gazed at her, mouths dumbly ajar.

Rebekah took a step back towards them again and slapped Stefan, who had accidentally whacked her, leaving a red blotch on his cheek, and then, to everyone's surprise, she slapped Damon, too.

A split second later, Klaus was at her side, taking her arm. "Let's end this clownery now," he told her softly, guiding her away from the Salvatore's.

But, as always, that wasn't still the end of it, because when had Kol ever let a chance to cause some mayhem slip away? And when had Damon ever set aside a grudge?

So as soon as Klaus and Rebekah were a few steps away from them, the three remaining in the center of the circle were pulled together as if by some powerful magnet, so very eager to use their itching fists.

This time the Salvatore alliance had truly crumbled. They were _all_ fighting each other; the two brothers not able to reunite even to fight a 'common enemy'. Damon seemed to be facing a dilemma whether to concentrate on punching Stefan or Kol. Stefan appeared to be so mad at his brother that he barely registered that Kol was even there and Kol was just taking full advantage of the Salvatore's inner turmoil.

Klaus turned around, rolling his eyes while his expression was saying something like 'not _again_'.

He and Rebekah both descended on the quarrelsome trio, but it was nearly impossible to say whether they were still trying to separate them or simply knock them out cold since snapping necks was obviously out of the question.

The perimeter of the fight was stretching gradually and with that the cluster of people started retreating farther away, screaming and shouting as they went.

For a long moment Elijah couldn't do more than simply gape at the bundle that consisted of his siblings and the Salvatore brothers kicking and tearing at each other like a pack of wild animals. Then he turned towards Elena whose eyes were fixed on the astonishing scene before them as well, and when she met his gaze, she looked as bewildered and unwitting as he felt, so for a short while they just stood like that, staring each other with _the_ dumbest expressions on their faces.

This whole charade was so past the state of ridiculous that it was nearing tragic.

Elijah set the cooler at Elena's feet. "We'll be needing that later," he said, motioning towards the scrimmage. He gave her a reassuring look and dove into the mass of people, pressing past them to reach the center.

When he did, he encountered the Salvatore brothers standing with their backs towards him. At least that made it easy…

He grabbed both of their collars and yanked them back quite roughly. They were startled by his appearance, trying to swing their head enough to see who had taken such firm hold of their shirts.

Elijah felt his head throb; the noise around them had simply become so damn loud. He saw Kol's mouth moving, uttering words he couldn't hear. Klaus was whisking with his hands, explaining something, he presumed.

But none of their voices reached him, he felt overwhelmed and puzzled because he didn't understand what they wanted him to do.

And then, suddenly, without much thinking, Elijah brought his hands together, almost by accident smacking Damon and Stefan's heads against one another's with a sickening crack, which resulted in both brothers passing out instantly.

The racket stopped like an orchestra at its conductor's lightest gesture.

Then Elena was there, crouching down beside the Salvatore's, checking up on them. Elijah contemplated whether she was just keeping up the pretence or whether she was truly concerned, which would have been irrational since they were vampires and would recover from this easily, but at the same time very human.

"They're fine," she announced to the general audience. Some of them had the decency to leave, but most kept their places as if waiting for some new form of entertainment to be introduced.

"Let's take them inside," Klaus said tiredly, motioning the others to help him.

"Can't we just throw them in the river or something?" Kol groaned sullenly, earning a glare from almost everyone close enough to hear him.

So they gathered closer to drag the Salvatore brothers' unconscious bodies into the mansion. Rebekah insisted on carrying Damon, arguing that Kol would definitely try to stake him. Maybe she did feel some shred of warmth towards him, then.

Kol pouted derisively at her and picked up Stefan's feet. Elijah put his hands under the Salvatore's arms, lifting him up. He wanted to stick with Kol to launch a little bit of an investigation of his own. He knew that if he wanted to find out what had made them come to blows in the first place, this brother was the one to ask.

Klaus shook his head peevishly, moving to stand next to Rebekah to help her carry Damon.

As they walked towards the entrance, Elijah glanced back at Elena who had met up with Caroline and Jeremy. They were talking to each other quietly, but her eyes followed Stefan and Damon in turns, her face worried.

Elijah was fairly sure there was no reason to be concerned, though. The Salvatore's were safe, at least as long as Damon and Kol weren't set loose in the same room.

When he caught Elena's gaze, he swayed his head towards Rebekah's retreating back, Damon's feet in her hands. She got her meaning at once, picking up the cooler and starting towards the front door, too. Jeremy caught her half way there, relieving her from the container, and they walked on side-by-side.

Elijah figured the other trio would need the fresh blood more than them since he had recently fed, Stefan was back on the restraint wagon and Kol… well, Kol could have a drink to relieve his cravings.

After entering the mansion, Elijah and Kol maneuvered through the corridors, which was a lot easier with the majority of their houseguests still outside.

His youngest brother had suggested they'd take Stefan into Klaus's study since there was something they "desperately needed" in there. That made Elijah slightly anxious, but he indulged him.

When he first set his foot into the den, Elijah though he might actually choke. The room was reeking so strongly of marihuana that its smell hit him in the face like a bat.

There were a few stoners sitting on the couch, sending wisps of smoke towards the ceiling, and on the massive desk stood a big glass bong, grimy from extensive use, no doubt.

"Out," Kol commanded dismissively and two of the potheads mumbled something and exited the study, leaving one 'fallen comrade' sleeping in an armchair by the hearth.

They dumped Stefan's limp body on the couch with a soft thud.

"So what was that _tiny_ incident all about?" Elijah asked, pacing lazily around the study as Kol searched something from the cabinets.

"Oh, the tussle outside?" he said absent-mindedly. "Just Damon being his caddish, dishonorable self. He's a sore loser who refused to acknowledge the terms of our wager; he deserved a lesson far more severe than the one he received."

Kol gave himself a satisfied nod as he pulled a bottle of champagne out of one of the cabinets. He turned around swiftly, presenting it to Elijah as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"We didn't have the time to drink for our victory, so let us do it now."

For an instant Elijah felt thoroughly at loss, he'd totally forgotten about winning and losing in the chaos of everything. Now his eyes lit up and he sighed with relief. They had won! Why did it make him feel so ridiculously proud at the moment?

Kol produced a couple of old-fashioned champagne coupes, seemingly out of nowhere, opened the bottle with a loud pop and filled the glasses.

He handed one to Elijah and lifted the other up ceremoniously. "To the sweet taste of victory!" he bellowed merrily.

Elijah clinked his glass against his and took a long, thoughtful sip. "And what did we win exactly?" he inquired carefully.

"Hah! Of course, you disappeared so quickly I didn't even have the opportunity to tell you!" Kol laughed, draining his glass and refilling his and Elijah's again. "We won the Mystic Grill."

"Pardon?" He stared at him unbelievingly.

"We won the rights to the Mystic Grill. We have a new Salvatore-free hanging place now," he announced with pride, grinning brightly.

"Kol…" He felt some anger rising in him. "You know I couldn't care less about the Grill and you let me stew with that wager for the better part of the evening…?" He didn't even know if it was a real question or only a rhetorical one.

"I wanted to aim for something a bit more thrilling at first, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the Salvatore's to participate in a wager that would have required them to drop their Elena habit," he explained innocently. "They're so drab, real killjoys."

Kol really was the never-stopping thrill-seeker. Elijah would have suggested him some good book to read if he felt so deprived of entertainment, but he doubted his brother would listen.

"But it's all well, my Mystic Falls take-over plan is steadily in motion," Kol added nonchalantly.

"Your what?" Elijah blurted, spluttering champagne everywhere since he'd been in the middle of sipping his drink. He honestly was a far cry of his usual elegance tonight. Maybe tomorrow they'd all wake up with no memory of this strange evening?

"We have the Grill, I'm thinking of taking on the school next… That is if I can coax the Salvatore's to take part of another wager," Kol said casually, keeping his face serious so Elijah couldn't tell whether he meant it or whether it was just another one of his jokes. Probably the latter… or was that wishful thinking?

A light sound of coughing came from the couch and they turned around to see Stefan slowly waking up.

He lifted his head from the pillows, looking at them confusedly. When he realized he was alone with them and his brother was not in sight, his expression changed from cautious to alarmed.

"Don't look so frightened," Kol reproved. "I won't deny that I'd enjoy tearing out your brother's heart, but you haven't quite tested me enough to earn that 'honor'."

He pulled out a third glass, poured champagne into it and handed it to Stefan. "Have a toast for…" Kol hesitated, "…uh, still being alive, I guess."

"Whoopee," Stefan cheered with the grimmest of voice and downed the whole glass with one gulp, setting it aside. "But I think I need something slightly stronger to fully appreciate my continuing existence."

"Not a problem," Kol said optimistically, moving across the room to raid Klaus's alcohol cabinet – most likely one of the only places in the house that hadn't been plundered yet.

Elijah found himself laughing at nothing and at everything as his brother set an array of colorful bottles on the desk next to that smelly bong and swirled around to retrieve proper glasses.

Kol mixing weird drinks was the last memory Elijah had of that evening, so later, as he thought about it, he could only conclude that he had to have in the least tasted them. It's funny how blackouts work in sort of a retroactive way – you never can recall which one of these damn drinks was the last straw.

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_So the next chapter will be the last and it will take place in the next morning. Some loose ends still to tie up and then this story will be done. Hope you've enjoyed it this far, I've had quite a bit of fun myself._


	8. Chapter Eight: Rise and Shine!

_Author's Note: What can I say… Christmas and New Year's have taken its toll on my writing, but here it is – the final chapter._

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**Chapter Eight: Rise and Shine!**

Elijah's eyes fluttered open, slowly and with much difficulty as if his eyelids were made of lead.

The first thing he saw was the dark blue fabric of his pillow. But it was _his_ pillow, so that was good. It meant that he had found his way to his room.

Elijah's mind felt empty at first as he blinked his eyes groggily, not able to move yet. The pain that was lurking around just beneath his skull seemed to be increasing with every passing moment, making him cringe and take shallow, labored breaths.

His throat was parched, his eyes hurt, he was fairly certain there was some sort of chemical reaction going on in his stomach that generated the ultimate nausea, and, on top of everything, he had the feeling that his head was only getting started with the pounding.

This morning was going to be pure hell. _Great!_ he thought sarcastically.

Slowly and deliberately Elijah turned to his right side. The brightness flooding through the windows almost blinded him. He brought one hand to his face, rubbing his aching forehead and eyes while he squinted so he could adjust to the harsh morning light.

His gaze travelled around the part on the room in his immediate view. A deck of cards was sprawled all over the floor, a wine glass lied on its side on his white carpet, next to a dark red splotch… nearest to him was an open laptop. Elijah reached out his arm to drag it closer. There were at least ten tabs open at once, the one filling the screen was YouTube with the word 'funny' typed into the search engine. Why didn't this make any sense?

He turned his head slightly. There was an awful smell of strong liquor in the air that made his nausea worse, so he hoped to find its source. Not that he had any idea what to do should he locate it. His whole body felt like a mass of dead flesh... what it theoretically was, but he'd never felt so much like a corpse as he did at this particular moment.

Was that his dress shirt? his mind absently noted upon seeing a white lump of clothing on the floor and as he looked down on himself, running his hands over his stomach, he discovered that it was, indeed, skin under his fingertips. The navy blue tie around his neck was still in place, but it looked rather ridiculous hanging over his bare chest.

Tie and trousers, what an odd combination, he thought. Somehow it sounded funny in his head.

Elijah took another minute to pull himself together, then hauled himself to his back and to his other side. He nearly fell out of bed as soon as the left side of his room became visible to him.

On the other side of his bed lied Elena, comfortably stretched out, one hand resting on her stomach and other on her side, slumbering like the Sleeping Beauty.

The vervain necklace she always wore lay prettily on the fabric of her purple top, shining in the morning sun, and strands of her dark brown hair were spread out on the pillow around her.

Elijah had to remind himself to shut his mouth that had dropped open somewhere along the way. He searched his mind frantically to find any images that would explain the sight before his eyes but came up blank, which was at that moment so incredibly infuriating, not to mention frustrating.

I'll never drink again, he thought firmly. No, no, too unrealistic. I'll never drink _that much_ again. That was better and about the limit his brain could accomplish at this particular time, because this hangover he was experiencing left little room for rational thought. He almost wished that Klaus would appear with one of those crafty daggers. Death could be more merciful than the aftermath of a boisterous carousal, Elijah mused.

He wondered briefly what he should do now, afraid that Elena might wake up at any moment and find him just staring at her like some idiot. He was never _ever_ going to party with a house full of teenagers again. It was beneath him, really, although he had hardly any right to deal out judgment right now.

Elijah had to admit, though, that Elena looked so sweet and beautiful as she slept that he simply couldn't help with the smile tugging at his lips. Then the reality kicked in and he wondered how they both ended up here in his room anyhow. He wished he could remember the conversations they must have had or that he could muster at least some sort of hazy mental image of the events that had taken place, but his mind refused to yield to his inquiries.

A small voice in his head perked up, wondering briefly whether something had happened between them, but he pushed it aside hastily. He would remember if it had, he told himself sternly. And it hadn't because he wouldn't take advantage of someone's drunken state. Then again he hadn't exactly been in a condition to take advantage at all… or walk in a straight line.

By the way the two of them were laid out on the bed, it seemed more as if they'd fallen asleep quite accidentally, or more like drunk themselves to sleep. At that thought, Elijah dug one hand under his side, where something hard was pressing against his back and pulled out an open bottle of rum. As luck would have it, he happened to hold it bottom side up and therefore emptied the rest of it on his lap.

He had to bite his tongue not to swear. At least the mystery of the strong stench of booze was solved… And it made him feel quite sick.

Elijah realized that he really needed to clean himself up, though he had very little energy to do so. His turned back to Elena, his mouth open to say something, but closed it again.

As much as he wanted to know all about last night and make sure he didn't come off as foolish as he felt, he couldn't bring himself to wake her. She slept so peacefully and he was all slovenly and feeling stupid for drinking himself into such a stupor that he couldn't remember half the things that had happened. A sensation he had no desire to explore right now. He wasn't used to feeling stupid.

So Elijah somehow found the strength to get up, though as soon as he accomplished it, he felt rather uncertain, swaying dangerously on his two feet, his head spinning. He stumbled forward to pick up his shirt but discarded it as soon as he'd gotten hold of it. He needed a clean shirt. And trousers. That was the most he was able to do for his appearance right now.

He stumbled to his closet and opened its doors, examining the array of sleeves that stared back at him with a blank expression. The only clothes he owned aside from dress shirts and jackets and trousers where a few tennis shirts and a pair of shorts from a long time ago when he used to play the game. He hadn't had time for sports for quite a while, but right now a shirt and shorts seemed a better choice than a suit.

Elijah had never thought that changing clothes could be painful, but this hangover seemed to teach him a lot of new, unpleasant things. His muscles and joints hurt dully every step of the way and he wondered whether that was how it felt to be old. Something he would never experience, although that knowledge didn't make him the least bit sad.

Before he left the room he drank a huge glass of water, refilling it again and setting it on the nightstand on Elena's side, hoping he wasn't too rude leaving her alone. He decided he rather liked waking up to her beautiful face, only the circumstances obviously left a lot to be desired.

* * *

The mansion had apparently emptied out during the weary morning hours, leaving behind one hell of a mess. There were still some poor lost souls scattered around the house though, like the boy sleeping face down in the middle of the corridor, Elijah had to skip over.

The floors were covered generously with all sorts of litter – trampled cups, broken bottles and glassware, food such as potato chips and popcorn, empty wrappers and… were those cigarette butts? He shuddered wondering whether the stains could ever be washed out of these rugs. Or it might have just been the hangover responsible for the shivers…

Elijah noticed that although the music had been turned down quite a bit, it still managed to fill the ground floor. He took direction towards the source of the sound moving slowly as he tried to avoid stepping on glass shards.

He stopped dead in the archway leading into the living-room, leaning against the wall for support, and let his tired eyes glide over the room. Everything looked slightly foggy.

The first thing that caught his gaze was – why didn't this surprise him in the least? – Damon Salvatore tottering back and forth, left and right with very random and clumsy steps, threatening to fall over with each one, and howling along with the song that was playing. His eyes were shut as if he was enjoying this enormously, his one hand raised, the index finger swaying in the same rhythm with the song, though with certain lag, and other clutching the neck of an almost empty bottle of bourbon.

How were they ever going to get rid of him?

"He won't shut up," a sluggish voice announced wisely, "I've tried everything, save for snapping his neck."

"Kol," Elijah said, turning his eyes on his brother and quirking an eyebrow at the ridiculous top hat that rested on his head. Kol was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with the smuggest of smiles on his face, surrounded by three giggling girls, all in different degrees of undress, but equally wasted, and holding cards in their hands.

"_Show me the way to the next whiskey bar_," Damon voice boomed throughout the room, slow and drowsy and slurred, but consistent. "_Oh, don't ask why, oh, don't ask why._"

"What on earth are you doing?" Elijah asked Kol, massaging his temples. The music and Damon's off-key singing made his head hurt more intensely.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said amusedly, raising a short, fat cigar to his lips and blowing out a long column of smoke. That explained the 'fog', Elijah thought just when the acrid smell reached him and he started coughing.

"Put that thing out," Elijah said between coughs, making a wry face as he fought an incredibly intense wave of nausea. "It's disgusting."

Kol ignored his comment entirely, winking at him with a wide smile, and said, "We're playing a bit of poker… Wanna join?" He gestured at the heap of women's clothing next to him, while he didn't seem to have removed a sock even, and added, "I'm quite good, you know."

"_For if we don't find the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die, I tell you we must die!_" Damon went on, somehow more committed than before, his singing more high-pitched, but just as awful. "_I tell you, I tell you, I tell you we must die!_"

"Oh, shut up," Elijah groaned, dragging one hand down his face in sheer desperation.

"He really just won't," Kol explained knowingly, observing Damon with some interest. "I think he's getting better…"

Elijah gave him a weak smile and whirled around, his hands on his head. He heard Kol saying, "Full house, ladies!" in the sweetest, most satisfied tone and the not-very-sorrowful gasps of his fellow players that followed.

He marched off with Damon's voice ringing in his ears. "_Oh moon of Alabama, we now must say good-bye!_" he bellowed tragically. Oddly it made Elijah feel slightly better – at least he wasn't that screwed up.

The dining room was deserted except for the same girl from last night, who was still lying on top of the table, sleeping soundly, surrounded by shot glasses, plastic cups and bottles.

When Elijah walked into the sitting room, he spotted Caroline's mane of blonde hair a mile away, instantly remembering he was supposed to talk to Klaus for her. But the following stopped him from feeling guilty and made him consider between unexpected and… funny?

Caroline had fallen asleep on the left side of the couch, her head resting on top of Klaus's shoulder. On the other side of his brother slumbered Stefan, his head leaned against the armrest, hands folded on his chest even in sleep. And right in the middle of the spectacle was the huge glass bong that lay on Klaus's lap, his one hand cradling it as if it were a newborn baby.

Elijah was about to turn around and leave the trio to their own devices when Kol's cheerful voice sounded from behind him.

"Doesn't this look cozy?" he drawled mockingly. "What do you think, brother, should we join in?"

"Oh, I dare you," Klaus, whose eyes had snapped open at the first words that were uttered, said in a low voice. So apparently he hadn't quite forgiven Kol for some of the things that had happened last night.

Kol took a few dotty steps into the sitting room, looking as if he was on the brink of doing something stupid. Elijah gave him a firm gesture of his hand to make him stop and turned to all the attendees in the room.

"Does anybody know where Rebekah is?" he was somewhat afraid to ask.

"Not me!" Kol nearly shouted light-heartedly, retreating back towards the exit with his hands raised, palms open, "And if you please excuse me, there're three lovely ladies waiting for me."

"Don't worry," Klaus said to Elijah when Kol was gone, "she is safe and sound, sleeping in my study."

He threw a small and shiny object to Elijah which he, of course, couldn't catch in his dizzy state. A key, he thought, as he picked it up from the ground.

"I locked the door so no one would disturb her sleep," Klaus added with a mysterious sneer as if there was something amusing about it.

* * *

"You _daggered_ her?" Elijah yelled unbelievingly when he'd made it back to the sitting room, holding the pointy object involved between his fingers, still covered with his sister's blood.

Everyone's gaze jumped to him since Caroline and Stefan had been slowly waking up with all the commotion going around them. By the look of it Stefan, at least, had a hangover as bad as his. Caroline seemed to be in a slightly better condition, though her hair was a mess and her eyes were still swollen from sleep and excessive drinking.

But at the moment Elijah had barely the time to notice such minor details when the two sets of shocked, curious eyes were overshadowed by the ones that reflected only quiet laughter.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he continued with anger heavy in his tone, staring at Klaus.

"You saw how she was acting," he said carelessly, setting the bong beside the couch. "Believe me, if she has any sense in that little blonde head of hers, she'll thank me for it."

"I suppose we'll find that out soon enough," Stefan contributed with a grim smile as he wrapped his hands gently around his head, breathing a quiet "Ow."

Caroline just looked from one face to another, appearing completely confused with her eyes wide and searching. "Did you _really_ dagger her?" she asked finally, her tone hushed and cautious.

"Oh, honestly!" Klaus protested when he'd taken in the accusing glares. "It was for one night only! I was going to undagger her in the morning; why else would I have given Elijah the key?"

Nobody answered him. Elijah knew he was probably being truthful, but that didn't excuse his behavior.

"I think we all need a good hangover cure!" Klaus proclaimed when the silence had reigned long enough. He rose from the couch to scurry about, retrieving the cooler, a few dark green bottles and champagne flutes.

As Klaus was occupied with his alleged 'cure', Stefan stood up as well, smoothing his clothes and tiding his hair as much as he could, while Caroline curled up on the couch, looking as if she was very much in the progress of recovering from last night's remnants.

"You look like Charlie Harper," she remarked on Elijah's choice of clothes which made Stefan release a bout of laughter and Klaus smirk.

Elijah didn't comment, his eyes on the cocktails his brother was cooking up, even when a part of him did feel the need to specify the difference between bowling and tennis shirts. As another round of silence ensued, everyone turned their attention on Klaus.

A minute later he flopped down on the couch again, handing a champagne flute to Caroline who accepted it skeptically.

"Champagne and blood," Klaus sighed sentimentally, "I call it 'Dear Mother'."

Caroline snorted, rotating the glass in her hand while she watched the countless bubbles rising to the surface. She looked hungry.

Stefan's gaze was glued on one of the three remaining glasses on the coffee table, two of them obviously prepared for him and Elijah.

"What do you say?" Klaus prompted, eying Elijah amicably. "Shall we return to peace?"

"Well enough," he said quietly, picking up a glass. "But this better be the last time. And I do mean it." He might have dragged it out, quarreled and fought, but he was simply far too worn out to even be mad at his brother.

A moment passed with Elijah and Klaus staring at each other, one gloomy and the other wearing a polite smile.

"Yea, seems like Rebekah just can't get through a party without being daggered," Caroline threw in, part amused, part sympathetic.

"Yes, by all means," a sarcastic, almost bored voice piped up from behind Elijah as Rebekah stumbled into the room. "Let's not make it into a family tradition, shall we?" she snapped irritatedly as she approached the table to claim one of the glasses.

"So you do forgive me, dear sister?" Klaus asked sweetly.

"Oh, I would take this dagger," she gestured at the object in Elijah's hand, "and drive it through your heart if it would only put you down for good, but unfortunately I'll have to keep enduring your wretched existence."

"So you're still mad," Klaus concluded casually, raising his glass to the air. "Family above all!" he declared before he took a sip.

"You can take it and shove it…" Rebekah hissed through her teeth, her face twisted with fury, but then shut herself up with a big gulp of champagne.

For a while everyone was busy sipping their drinks when Caroline's head suddenly jerked up as if she'd remembered something important.

"Hey," she started with a frown on her face, "has anybody seen Elena?"

Elijah could feel his breath hitch for a moment. Stefan's eyes had become more livid, Klaus shrugged, expectant of an answer, and even Rebekah shifted in place, a mildly interested look on her face.

Elijah wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to act, but he was quite sure he didn't want to see the looks, or in Rebekah's case glares, he would receive if he told the truth. So he decided just to say nothing.

"Maybe she went home with Jeremy?" Caroline thought aloud, glancing around for someone to confirm the fact.

Everybody jumped when tousled head of hair suddenly popped up from behind the couch.

"Did somebody say my name?" Jeremy asked in a gruff voice, looking very tired and very disheveled. Before anyone had the time to answer, his head fell back to the ground with a soft thump, his eyes drifting shut again.

"That much for Jeremy," Rebekah noted snootily, eying him as if he'd been some homeless bum on a street corner.

Caroline got up to fit a pillow under the poor boy's head.

"Well? Did anyone see her going home alone?" Klaus demanded.

"Um," Stefan hesitated, "I think the last I saw her, she was… she was talking to you." He pointed at Caroline.

"When was that?" Caroline wondered, her frown growing deeper. "Before or after the strippers?"

"_Strippers_?" Elijah and Rebekah said in unison.

Klaus laughed loudly at that, and Caroline and Stefan smirked.

"You two should remember," Klaus said, shaking his head with a wide, dimpled smile.

"Yeah," Caroline giggled, waving one hand towards Rebekah, "you totally hit it off with the fireman!"

"All the girls were _so_ jealous!" Klaus added before he succumbed to another fit of jolly laughter. "You see, he was the only male stripper. But you're wrong, Caroline," he wagged one finger at her with mock reproval, "he was a paramedic."

"No no no," Stefan argued, "he was a police officer! That's why at first everyone started yelling and half the people fled to the back yard."

"I quite liked the blonde one with the big…" Klaus said, glancing up dreamily as he made a meaningful pause. "That was before Elijah compelled her to leave."

Caroline punched his arm. "She looked like a total slut! And behaved even worse!"

Elijah couldn't listen to this any longer. "Who called strippers?" he said disapprovingly. "Kol?"

"You'd think so," Caroline mused thoughtfully, "but I suspect it was Damon."

"_Damon?_" Rebekah pretty much yelped in surprise.

"I say it was good thinking, the party was starting to die down at that point," Klaus pronounced his opinion on the subject which made everyone look surprised. It wasn't often he'd give any credit to the Salvatore. Or, well, more like never.

"It certainly gave a new life to the party," Stefan chuckled.

For the time being Elena seemed to be forgotten…

"Is that singing I hear?" Rebekah said and all eyes turned to her. She looked annoyed by the stares, shrugged and said, "Just listen, somebody's singing."

"It's Damon," Elijah told them.

"Oh. My. God!" Caroline uttered each word slowly, lifting her head towards the entrance. "It _is_ Damon! I've just got to see this!" She gulped down the last bit of her cocktail and raced in the direction of the living-room, others at her heels.

As they reached their destination they found Damon in the middle of another song, still very much in the same state as before if not holding a tad emptier bottle in his hand.

"_I believe in a thing called love, just listen to the rhythm of my heart!_" he howled or whined or however one may call what he was doing. The song was clearly in a key too high for him but, of course, that little fact didn't stop him.

Caroline looked as if she might actually die of laughter when Damon used his hands to imitate a guitar solo on his own imaginary instrument.

And when Stefan, who was the last to exit the sitting room, entered the room by gliding in on his socks and joined his brother in singing, everybody roared with laughter so loudly they could hardly hear the music.

"Behold the Salvatore double act!" Kol bellowed, clapping his hands together with enthusiasm.

Caroline snatched the top hat from his head and placed it on hers, dancing along with the Salvatore brothers. Even Klaus made a few dance moves at Caroline's beckoning, pulling Rebekah by the hand to join them.

Elijah just watched them all, questioning their sanity, although he had to admit that he was quite enjoying this happy scene before him.

He left them to it, silently disappearing upstairs again, careful that no one would raise a protest.

As he stepped into his room again, he noticed immediately that the bed was empty. Moreover, he noticed that Elena had tidied the place up a bit. The bed was made and the cards were gathered into a single deck again, the wine glass had vanished from the floor… and she was gone. Oddly he felt disappointed.

Then the bathroom door clicked and he wondered how out of it he must be to not have heard her.

Elena took in his slightly breathless state and said, "You didn't think I'd leave without saying good-bye?"

"Of course," he assured once he had reclaimed the control over his face and voice.

She smiled that warm smile of hers, looking nothing like a person who had partied throughout the previous night should look, which, by the way, was quite an insult to all the vampires in this house.

"You know, despite the head ache and feeling like I want to throw up, I had a really great time last night," Elena said, nodding at him in thanks which made his eyebrows rise skyward.

"It was very… eventful, indeed," he agreed a little awkwardly. Yet another feeling that was to be added to the growing list of new-found sensations. "Perhaps you'll tell me about it sometime," he added jestingly, although there was entirely too much truth in what he was implying.

She snorted but not arrogantly. "God, you look funny when you're hung-over… and sort of cute," she stated matter-of-factly, casually as if she was just making an observation. Like the whole situation wasn't the least bit weird.

Elijah stared at her, somewhat baffled.

"Anyway, I'd love to talk sometime and then you could finish teaching me bridge," she said a bit distractedly, pulling out her buzzing cell phone. "I have to be honest, I can't remember much about it…" she went on, smiling briefly before she concentrated on the freshly received message.

Well, bridge is a four-player game, Elijah thought amusedly, so no wonder she hadn't gotten the hang of it.

"…but right now I'm sorry to say I _really_ have to run," she finished, looking up apologetically.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing on the usual life-and-death scale, but Bonnie is pretty worried about Matt. She found him wandering around in the town center, completely bewildered," she explained with some concern, making Elijah feel his stomach drop. "She says he acts like he doesn't even know her…"

She brushed past him into the corridor, turning around to say her last good-bye, no doubt.

"Wait," Elijah quickly cut her off. "I think I know what's wrong with him." He _absolutely_ knew what was wrong with him. It was his fault, really. Drunken compulsion! That had obviously been a mistake.

"You do?" Elena asked him, surprised.

"Yes and I better come with you… only I can't take a step out of this house in these," he pointed his hands at the clothes he was wearing which made her chuckle.

"You look like Charlie Harper."

"That's what Caroline said," he remarked dryly. "Will you wait for me while I change?"

"Sure, but…"

"While you do it, you should check on the others. The last I saw them, Stefan and Damon were singing and… well, I don't even know where to start with the others."

"Stefan and Damon _singing?_" She sounded as if he'd just announced that the aliens had landed. "No way! I _have_ to see that!"

"Wait for me downstairs?"

She looked at him with the nicest smile on her face. "Yes."

As she pounded down the stairs, dark hair flying behind her, Elijah thought that perhaps she did look as disheveled as the others. Maybe he just hadn't noticed.

* * *

_So I guess I could have gone differently with the last chap, but I wanted to keep it sort of funny and sweet and light and I hope that's what it was._

_I got to revisit many of the clichés on any house party from dancing on tables to waking up to someone surprising, but I hope that I did it in an interesting manner and not a dull one._

_If anyone's in the mood for 'credits', I suggest listening to "Friday Night" by the Darkness. Not a song with lyrics resembling the events of the story, but I think it has the right vibe._

_Oh, and do tell me what you thought!_


End file.
